Dolce & Gabbana cancels fashion show in Shanghai amid racism accusations, issues apology

Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana cancelled its show scheduled for 21 November in Shanghai after its latest ad campaign was accused of being racist and furthering stereotypes associated with China and its people. After the cancellation, private messages of the label’s co-founder Stefano Gabbana reportedly making derogatory remarks about Chinese culture also surfaced online.

According to The Guardian , the brand published a video of a Chinese model struggling to eat a pizza, cannoli and spaghetti with chopsticks. Weibo users accused the brand for depicting Chinese in a derogatory manner and trivialising their culture. The video was taken down within 24 hours, but has been shared widely over social media. ‘Boycott Dolce’ has since been mentioned more than 18,000 times on the platform. The users also demanded an apology, reports Jing Daily .

Instagram account Diet Prada, known for bashing the fashion industry shared the video as well as messages Stefano had exchanged with fashion writer Michaela Phuong.

The company released a statement, claiming that Stefano’s account had been hacked and the legal office was conducting an investigation. “We are very sorry for any distress caused by these unauthorised posts, comments and direct message,” reads the post. “We have nothing but respect for China and the people of China,” it added.

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A post shared by Dolce & Gabbana (@dolcegabbana) on Nov 20, 2018 at 9:26pm PST

In another statement, the label said that the now-cancelled Shanghai fashion show was “something that we created especially with love and passion for China and all the people around the world who love Dolce & Gabbana …What happened today was very unfortunate not only for us, but also for all the people who worked day and night to bring this event to life.”