Njideka Akabogu
Dolce & Gabbana is in yet another mess and it just might be their biggest one yet.
The Italian fashion house is being accused of racism after they aired an ad campaign promoting their now-cancelled fashion show which was scheduled to take place in Shanghai, China last week.
Tagged ‘The Great Show’, it was going to be the biggest show in the brand’s almost two decades of existence. It would have featured over 300 looks, 140 performers and a one-hour ode to China – the world’s most important luxury market.
In the first episode of the offensive ad which has since been taking down, an Asian model is seen struggling to eat an entire pizza with chopsticks as a narrator advised patronisingly, “don’t attempt to use the chopsticks as knives” and “just use your chopsticks like pliers.”
The second and third episodes see the same model attempt to eat a cannoli and a bowl of spaghetti. while the narrator “mockingly” pronounces Dolce & Gabbana in a Chinese accent.
The outcry was further fuelled by screenshots of derogatory messages allegedly sent from co-founder Stefano Gabbana’s personal Instagram page.
Stefano has denied that the messages were from him, stating that his account was hacked. The brand apologized for the distress caused by ht “unauthorized posts” on their Instagram account writing, “We are very sorry for any distress caused by these unauthorized posts. We have nothing but respect for China and the people of China.”
Comments
Loading…