Dolce and Gabbana accused of racism in Chinese 'chopsticks' ads

CNBC

Italian fashion house Dolce and Gabbana has been accused of racism after running three ads showing a Chinese woman being told how to use chopsticks.

The series of three videos, entitled "Eating With Chopsticks," show a woman eating large plates of pizza, spaghetti and a giant Italian cannolo pastry, while a male voiceover tells her what to do.

The films were posted on Twitter and Instagram ahead of D&G's "The Great Show" fashion event to be held Wednesday in Shanghai. But some people have reacted angrily to them, with one writing "Orientalism is expressed so explicitly in this ad. It's very offensive to portrait all Chinese ppl (people) in such a stereotypical way." Another wrote "This is so stupid and culturally insensitive! Take down this video at once D&G!" and a third said: "This is racist, take it back."

Chinese news website Jing Daily reported that the films had been removed from social network Weibo, a report that CNBC has not been able to verify. Jing Daily also said that "Boycott Dolce" had been mentioned more than 18,000 times on Weibo.

This is not the first time the fashion house has attracted controversy. In 2015, the designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana said: "We oppose gay adoptions. The only family is the traditional one," attracting protests outside their London store.

The company has outlets in 25 cities in China, according to store listings on its website. Chinese luxury consumers account for over 500 billion yuan ($72 billion) in annual spending, representing almost a third of the global luxury market, according to a 2017 McKinsey report.

Dolce and Gabbana had not responded to CNBC's request for comment at the time of publication.

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