D&G unveil Italian oomph at Milan after China fiasco
Dolce and Gabbana mixed checks, furry gloves
and shimmering dressing gown-style coats on Saturday at Milan Fashion Week,
branding it Italian oomph.
The Sicilian duo were making their first presentation after the fashion
house was forced to apologise to Chinese customers in November 2018 for
posting short clips on Instagram showing a Chinese woman eating pizza,
spaghetti and a cannoli with chopsticks.
The uproar escalated when Stefano Gabbana allegedly used poop emojis to
describe China and hurled insults at the country and its people.
But the pair steered clear of controversy at their Autumn-Winter 2019-2020
collection named Eleganza, or Elegance in Italian.
The backdrop oozed 1930s Berlin decadence with giant red curtains, jazz and
a master of ceremonies (shades of Joel Grey!) recreating a Cabaret ambience.
But to highlight Italy’s mastery of cloth, an atelier was also recreated
with tailors and fitters taking measurements and cutting and stitching as the
models walked up and down the ramp.
Models showcased quirky styles, teaming tailcoats with plaid trousers,
matador suits with sparkling bow ties and a ginger velvet suit with black
lapels.
D&G did not skimp on the lame Hollywood-level glamour incorporating colours
such as midnight blue, burgundy and deep purple.
‘We made mistakes’
Although there were some Chinese people at the show, Chinese online
retailers are boycotting D&G despite a public apology in which Domenico Dolce
and Stefano Gabbana capped a 1 minute 30-second mea culpa by saying “sorry” in
Mandarin in an attempt to salvage their reputation in the world’s most
important luxury market.
“Our families always taught us to respect different cultures across the
world and because of this we want to ask for your forgiveness if we have made
mistakes in interpreting yours,” Dolce said in Italian.
“We want to say sorry to all Chinese people across the world, of which
there are many, and we are taking this apology and message very seriously,”
Gabbana added.
The Chinese-subtitled video was posted on Weibo, the popular Chinese
Twitter-like social media platform where they have close to one million
followers.
The controversy marked the latest backpedalling by a foreign company for
offending Chinese consumers or authorities.
Earlier in 2018, German automaker Mercedes-Benz apologised for “hurting the
feelings” of people in China after its Instagram account quoted Tibetan
spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, seen as a separatist by Beijing.
And under pressure from Beijing, a growing number of international airlines
and companies have edited their websites to refer to the self-ruling
democratic island of Taiwan as “Taiwan, China” or “Chinese Taipei”.
Hotel chain Marriott’s website in China was also shut down by the
authorities for a week in 2018 after a customer questionnaire listed Taiwan,
Tibet and Hong Kong as separate countries, prompting the hotel chain to
apologise and change the wording.(AFP)
Photos: Dolce & Gabbana AW19, Catwalkpictures.com