New Zealand fashion label Lonely Lingerie has been worn by Hollywood stars and its expensive creations have developed a cult following in fashion circles.
But now the couple behind Lonely seem to have gone down a conspiracy theory rabbit hole.
Former Lonely staff talked to journalists David Farrier and Zoe Walker Ahwa for the article The Lonely descent into QAnon.
Steve Ferguson and Helene Morris from Lonely Lingerie Photo: Babiche Martens
There were murmurings Lonely employees had been unhappy for a while but understandably they were worried about the repercussions of speaking out until now, Farrier tells Jesse Mulligan.
His own interest in the story began when Lonely founders Steve Ferguson and Helene Morris's personal social media posts were leaked to him during lockdown.
The couple "started lightly", asserting distrust for the government which could be potentially attributed to lockdown stress for business owners, Farrier says.
But then Ferguson's posts escalated into statements that Covid-19 is fake, climate change is fake and the Christchurch terror attack was fake.
"The jump down the rabbit hole into the extreme just comes so quickly and it's so illogical … I've been studying this for a long time and it still blows my mind, especially a case like this."
Ferguson and Morris's alternative beliefs trickled down to people working in the Lonely head office and Lonely stores, especially in relation to Covid-19 precautions and the Black Lives Matter movement, Farrier says.
"When the pandemic hits, Steve is making it very clear to staff that he doesn't want to do contact tracing, he's not bothered about masks, not bothered about hand sanitiser. So the staff we talked to for the story had to get these things for themselves."
As a brand, Lonely did not take a public position on the Black Lives Matter movement and on their social media platforms comments critical of this were deleted, he says.
This was especially jarring for staff and customers as the brand presents itself as inclusive and progressive.
"'Hillary Clinton eats babies' - that's not a metaphor, that's a belief amongst [QAnon followers]. You've got a really progressive fashion label and the two cofounders are espousing these beliefs in their personal lives and that trickles down into the store by not supplying what staff are requesting for the pandemic and putting them in a position where they're not allowed to talk about Black Lives Matter on their social media."
An empty Lonely store waits to be opened on LA's exclusive Melrose Avenue, but although Ferguson and Morris are apparently in Northern California their minds seem to be elsewhere now, Farrier says.
"They're very focused on Mount Shasta, which is a spot where there's apparently a very good landing ground for UFOs. They're very much into this Starseed idea … and I think they're distracted from opening a store in Los Angeles."
As a brand, Lonely Lingerie seems to be in a really tricky position, and Farrier says he feels for the current staff.
"[Lonely] has been championed because it embraces body types you wouldn't expect to see models exhibiting - different sizes, different colours, different ethnicities, different sexualities, genders, and incredibly progressive. So that what makes this swing into conspiracy theory territory really surprising for staff as well because it's put them in a really unusual position ... it's incredibly disturbing."
