The co-founders of Dolce & Gabbana have apologised on Chinese social media after promotional videos seen as racist and subsequent Instagram messages caused outrage in one of the world’s
By Associated Press Reporters
November 23 2018 11:38 AM
The co-founders of Dolce & Gabbana have apologised on Chinese social media after promotional videos seen as racist and subsequent Instagram messages caused outrage in one of the world’s largest markets for luxury goods.
Domenico Dolce and Steffano Gabbana appeared in a video posted on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, saying they hope to be forgiven and will do their best to understand and respect Chinese culture.
“We have always been in love with China,” said Dolce. “We love your culture and we certainly have much to learn. That is why we are sorry if we made mistakes in the way we expressed ourselves.”
The Italian fashion house has been in hot water for the videos and subsequent insulting remarks made by the Instagram accounts of both the company and Gabbana. It blamed hackers for the Instagram comments.
The three promotional videos, which have been deleted from the company’s Weibo account, feature a Chinese woman using chopsticks to eat pizza and other Italian food.
Many Chinese social media users called the videos racist and full of outdated stereotypes.
In the apology video, the two designers wore black long-sleeved shirts, the kind they often wear to runway shows, and sat with their hands folded at a large conference table in a room decorated with formal, red-gilded wallpaper.
