Yes, we know, Dolce & Gabbana did another thing. When they’re not feuding with Diet Prada or Miley Cyrus, they’re calling Selena Gomez “so ugly”. And now, Italian design duo have pissed off Chinese followers with a series of videos posted to Instagram.
Ahead of its ‘Great Fashion Show” in Shanghai, the Italian brand posted a trio of videos to its account entitled ‘Eating with Chopsticks’, that feature a model being told how to eat Italian food with chopsticks. In the comments, Chinese followers were enraged by the stereotypical portrayal of their culture. “It’s almost 2019 now, I don’t understand why a huge brand will still have the stereotype and make fun of it,” said one user.
Another commented: “I am really happy Chinese people are standing up to the discrimination and as money is what these brands want the most from us, we should choose wisely who we give our money to!” Others commented on a different post, that allegedly uses a Japanese character, instead of a Chinese one. “Don’t go China, you are not welcome at all,” said one comment, while another read, “The first step to earning our money is respect our culture.”
Dolce and Gabbana is yet to respond to criticisms of the ad.
UPDATE: Dolce and Gabbana’s show has been cancelled by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Shanghai and the Italian label claims that both its Instagram account and Stefano Gabbana’s have been hacked. “We are very sorry for any distress caused by these unauthorized posts, comments and direct messages,” the post says. “We have nothing but respect for China and the people of China.”