Dolce & Gabbana founders issued an apology to Chinese people and for misunderstanding the Chinese culture following a racist outburst of one of its founders, Stefano Gabbana. A video released on Friday showed Gabbana and Domenico Dolce asking for forgiveness, saying they love and respect Chinese culture.
In the video, Gabanna said they sincerely apologize to Chines people around the world, while Dolce also said sorry and hoped they'll be forgiven for misunderstanding the Chinese culture. Then, the two ended the video by saying the word "sorry" in Mandarin, the South China Morning Post reported.
The Italian fashion house received intense criticism after an Instagram conversation was leaked, in which Gabbana claimed China is a "country of s***." Also, the brand's campaign advertisement was also said to be racist towards Chinese people where it features a female Chinese model struggling using chopsticks while eating Italian foods.
The ad prompted accusations that it was stereotyping Chinese people. The backslash also resulted in the fashion house to cancel its fashion show in Shanghai and retailers in Hong Kong, and mainland China pulled out and stopped selling its products.
Previously, the company apologized to China and the Chinese people where Gabbana claimed his Instagram account was hacked. The company also said the cancellation of the fashion show in Beijing was unfortunate not only for them but also for the people who worked all day and all night just to make it possible.
Chinese celebrities such as Zhang Ziyi and Chen Kun - who signed up to attend the fashion show - canceled their appearance amid criticisms. The Chinese ambassadors of the brand, Karry Wang Junka, and Dilireba, have terminated their contracts with the company as well.
The video released on Friday wasn't also enough to end the criticism towards the fashion house. One Chinese social media user said the founders' apology lacked sincerity, while another user joked the video was posted by a hacker.
Meanwhile, a WeChat conversation between a representative from Dolce & Gabbana's children's line and a customer seeking for a refund has gone viral too. In the posted screenshot, the woman asked 2,400 yuan (US$345) refund, saying she no longer want to wear the brand's clothing due to fear that people might "throw s***t at her."
Beijing, on the other hand, opted not to get involved with the issue. Geng Shuang, the foreign ministry spokesman, said on Thursday the issue wasn't diplomatic and China didn't want to escalate it into one.
