Once a titan in high end designer fashion, we rarely speak the name Dolce and Gabbana next to Hermes, Gucci and Prada in today’s fashion world (unless we’re talking about their successful fragrances – Dolce & Gabbana The One is bomb). Like many of the world’s brands and names, D&G has fallen from grace in the face of public scrutiny. But why is Dolce and Gabbana cancelled? Turns out, the fashion house has a long history of scandal. There are many justifying reasons long predating this one, but the most standout story and most recent cancellation reason has to be Eating with Chopsticks.
In arguably its most notable “yikes” to date, D&G faced significant backlash in China and beyond after a controversial advertising campaign in 2018. They released a series of promotional videos on China’s social media site Weibo called “Eating with Chopsticks” featuring a Chinese woman struggling to eat Italian foods like pizza and a comically oversized cannoli with chopsticks. A man in voiceover condescends, “is it too big for you?”
These videos were (rightfully) criticized for being culturally insensitive and portraying racist stereotypes of Chinese people. They were also just not good, or remarkable, or funny in any way unless you’re a racist.
Many called for a boycott. Chinese celebrities and models joined in, publicly denouncing the brand and refusing to participate in D&G’s scheduled Shanghai “Great Fashion Show”.
They couldn’t make it worse… could they?
Somehow they made this worse. Derogatory comments about China and the Chinese response they were receiving were posted on both Stefano Gabbana and Dolce & Gabbana’s official Instagram accounts. The brand initially claimed both accounts were hacked and D&G were not responsible for the offensive posts. In fact, an official investigation into how it had happened was already underway.
However, screenshots of private Instagram messages allegedly sent from Gabbana’s account surfaced, containing derogatory and racist comments about China and Chinese people. Including this stupidity, to a prominent fashion blogger:
That kinda blew up their spot, further fueled the outrage. Ultimately, Dolce & Gabbana cancelled the Shanghai fashion show. Not so great.
Backlash and the Road to Recovery (?)
The backlash resulted in significant financial loss for Dolce & Gabbana, as Chinese e-commerce and retail pulled the brand from stores. D&G issued an apology video in an attempt to rebuild its image in China:
However, the brand continues to face challenges in regaining its former popularity and market share in APAC.
We don’t know what the future holds for this brand. They did attempt a SS23 collection with Kim Kardashian, so there’s potential hope for folks to forget. We’ll be doing an entire series on the brand’s ignominious history here. What are your thoughts? Would you still buy D&G today?
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