Jung von Matt and Maison Blanche set an example against sexualized violence

Sexualized violence is omnipresent. And it rarely has any real consequences. Those affected remain alone with what they have experienced, not daring to report assaults out of shame and fear of the consequences or the reactions of family, environment and police. And if they do, many reports do not lead to a conviction. These acquittals are very often based on a lack of evidence - and thus reveal how one-sidedly the topic is still dealt with.

The lack of evidence in some cases relates to the perpetrator's DNA, which law enforcement has been unable to secure. The clothing of the victim with potentially existing DNA traces of the perpetrator can become an all-important piece of evidence. This circumstance is addressed by the Swiss fashion label Maison Blanche - founded by Yannik Zamboni, who gained fame in the USA as the winner of the show "Making the cut" - in collaboration with Jung von Matt Limmat with the awareness campaign "Tags Against Crime" on. The campaign is part of Maison Blanche's 2024 Runway Collection, called "DNA", which was presented on Sunday at New York Fashion Week.

Washing labels with message

At the heart of the collection and campaign are wash labels that convey a central message: If clothing is washed after an assault, valuable DNA evidence is lost. For this reason, all garments in the new collection are equipped with a wash label with the corresponding message: "Do not wash if you've just been sexually assaulted" - i.e. the "Tag Against Crime. Together with a website, the wash label provides information on how to secure as much DNA evidence as possible in the event of an assault and where the person affected can get further help.

In addition to this concrete educational work, the campaign has an even greater goal: "More than half of all women in Switzerland have experienced sexual harassment, and around one fifth have experienced sexual violence. The number of unreported cases is probably much higher. And LGBTIQA+ people are also disproportionately affected by sexualized violence. Despite these figures, the topic is still a taboo," says Yannik Zamboni. And continues: The campaign not only aims to educate, but also to advance the discourse around how society deals with sexualized violence. "Not a day goes by that there is not another new news article that provides reason for outrage. Sexualized violence is - unfortunately - still everywhere. The fact that with "Tags Against Crime" we can make a concrete, literally tangible contribution to keeping the discussion going makes us enormously happy," says Dominique Magnusson, Creative Director of the campaign. Jacqueline Rufener, also Creative Director of Tags Against Crime, adds: "In the past weeks, we have had discussions with national and international NGOs and talked to DNA researchers, the police, forensic experts, lawyers and politicians. In the process, we were reaffirmed time and again that this idea can trigger an important discourse."

In Switzerland, the "Tags Against Crime" campaign is supported by the organizations "DAO - Dachorganisation Frauenhäuser Schweiz und Liechtenstein" and the "Stiftung gegen Gewalt an Frauen und Kindern".

Responsible at Maison Blanche: Yannik Zamboni (Creative Director), Daniel Kaldis (Studio Manager). Responsible at Jung von Matt Limmat: Dominique Magnusson, Jacqueline Rufener (Creative Direction), Luigi Vitiello (Art Direction), Lara Zehnder (Social Creation), Natascha Imfeld (Agency Production), Joëlle Mayenzet, Marcel Walzl (Project Management), Michel Nellen (Creative Amplification Direction), Nina Bieli (PR), Wolfgang Bark (Managing Creative Director), Luitgard Hagl (Managing Creative Director and Agency Lead). Responsible at Jung von Matt Tech: Joel Rohland (Digital Art Direction & Development), Leonard Langen (Design), Stefanie Pfeffer, Christian Koop (Project Management), Michelle Scholz (Managing Director). External partners:inside: Blish (Media Realization): Jlona Kopf (Managing Director); Navada (Production Company): Laura Šerić (Producer), Mariska van Lavieren (Producer), Wero Rodowicz (Director), Byron Trieb (DoP), Cyrill Matter (Photographer).