His company is now suffering that same fate, with online platforms promptly removing its products and upscale Hong Kong store Lane Crawford following suit in its shops.
Chinese e-commerce sites have removed Dolce & Gabbana products amid a spiraling backlash against an advertising campaign that was decried as racist by celebrities and on social media.
"We've always been in love with China, we've visited it and seen many of its cities".
At the centre of the controversy was a series of ads run on social media, to publicise the show.
Chinese model and actress Zhang Ziyi slammed the brand on her account with her management later confirming that she would not be attending the show and that, along with her team, she would never be using or buying from Dolce & Gabbana again.
The company later apologised in a statement on Weibo, saying both Gabbana's and the brand's accounts had been hacked. NetEase Inc. said all D&G items have been removed from its Kaola shopping platforms. "It was not simply a fashion show, but something that we created especially with love and passion for China and all the people around the world who loves Dolce & Gabbana".
However, the following day, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said it was not a diplomatic matter and the government did not want to comment. The country has established itself as an economic powerhouse, which means Western brands trying to enter the market need to get rid of dated ideas of "the west is best" and come up with sophisticated and nuanced ways to cater to new markets. The brand has also faced criticism for adding the Chinese social media star known as Angelababy - often referred to as a would-be Chinese Kim Kardashian - to its roster of brand ambassadors while its lineup of Western stars includes A-list silver-screen star Jennifer Lawrence. Gap pulled a T-shirt featuring a map of China that left out territories claimed by Beijing. At one point, the narrator asks the female model if the phallic shaped cannoli "is it too huge for you?"
Rebels attack Chinese consulate in Pakistan's Karachi, two police killed
But, Rana said, both China and Pakistan have calculated the security risks, which include the threats from the Baluch separatist. Pakistani security personnel move in the compound of Chinese Consulate in Karachi , Pakistan, on November 23, 2018.
In the video apology, Gabbana and Dolce said they had "reflected seriously" and were saddened by the impact of their words. The closely held brand has sales of nearly 1 billion euros (US$1.1 billion), according to Bloomberg data.
Domenico Dolce and Steffano Gabbana appeared in a almost 1 ½ minute video posted on Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter, saying they hope to be forgiven and will do their best to better understand and respect Chinese culture.
The brand is also being deserted by its spokesmen and celebrities in the fallout.
Estelle Chen, a Chinese model who walked in this month's Victoria's Secret runway show, posted an Instagram message that supported the scrapping of D&G's show.
The duo expressed hope that China could forgive them for their poor understanding of culture.
D&G published three promotional clips Chinese internet users found racist to its social media accounts including China's Twitter-like service Weibo this week to help promote the Great Show, originally slated for Nov 21 in Shanghai. In their apology clip, the designers didn't repeat an earlier allegation that their Instagram accounts were hacked.
Following the shitstorm around the videos, DMs from Stefano Gabbana in conversation with a follower were posted online, showing the designer calling Chinese people "Ignorant Dirty Smelling Mafia" and saying they eat dogs. It came under fire on social media past year for another series of ads showing the grungy side of Chinese life.
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