3 things we can learn from Dolce & Gabbana’s China ‘racism’ scandal
Last week’s Great Show in Shanghai was cancelled after the likes of Zhang Ziyi, Chen Kun and Huang Xiaoming reacted to an online advertising campaign and subsequent alleged comments
In an increasingly interconnected world, any negative comments or inappropriate message can sink a billion dollar luxury mother ship within hours.
And following what happened in the Dolce & Gabbana scandal in China last week, this is more evident than ever before.
It started with a series of promotional videos which angered the country’s citizens, with a video of a Chinese woman trying to use chopsticks to eat Italian food, which was labelled racist and sexist by some.
Comments attributed to founder Stefano Gabbana then inflated the situation, with the designer allegedly saying in a conversation on his Instagram account that China was a “country of sh*t”.
Dolce & Gabbana said that their account and Gabbana’s personal account had been hacked and that its legal team were “urgently investigating”.
That led to a host of celebrities, models and guests pulling out of Dolce & Gabbana’s Great Show, which was expected to take place last Wednesday at an estimated cost of close to 200 million yuan (US$29 million).
Global online stores and retailers also joined Chinese retailers in dropping Dolce & Gabbana products.
But as the dust slowly starts to settle, what can we learn about consumerism in China, and how can luxury brands become more conscious players in the market?
