Not just Dolce & Gabbana: five other brands that riled Chinese with fashion and beauty faux pas
- Fashion brands Balenciaga, Dior, and Philipp Plein have all felt the anger of Chinese internet users
- One of them had to shut its Weibo account, such was the backlash
Dolce & Gabbana is the latest international brand to discover that upsetting people in China can have consequences for its bottom line.
The Italian label ran a series of adverts showing a model using chopsticks to eat pizza, spaghetti, and Italian dessert cannoli, prompting accusations of racism from Chinese internet users. When Dolce & Gabbana co-founder Stefano Gabbana reacted to their accusations with a social media rant in which he called China “a country of s***”, the criticism was redoubled. Brand ambassadors and models announced they would boycott the label, it had to cancel a show in Shanghai billed as one of its biggest outside Italy, and online retailers in China and worldwide, as well as Hong Kong’s biggest department store operator, dropped Dolce & Gabbana products from their websites and stores.
We look at five other international brands that caused offence in China.
Balenciaga
Earlier this year Chinese social media users were incensed with luxury fashion house Balenciaga after reports of racial discrimination at one of its outlets in France.