TF Boys and other Chinese stars terminate contracts with Dolce & Gabbana
Celebrities have stopped working with the Italian fashion house, while several e-commerce platforms have shelved its products
Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana’s recent ad campaign, interpreted as being racist within China, keeps heating up following the cancellation of its high-profile catwalk show in Shanghai.
The topic is currently the most searched for item on China’s social media platform, Weibo, and Chinese celebrities have collectively been speaking out on Weibo in protest about the brand’s campaign.
TF Boys’ Karry Wang, Dolce & Gabbana’s Asia-Pacific brand ambassador, announced after the show was cancelled that he has informed the brand he is terminating his contract with it. “Collaboration must be based on mutual respect towards each other’s history and culture. Our country is inviolable and higher than anything,” his studio stated later yesterday.
Chinese actress Dilraba Dilmurat, who is also an ambassador for Dolce & Gabbana, and who was invited to walk the runway at the brand’s show during Milan Fashion Week this year, also declared that she will be ending her relationship with Dolce & Gabbana immediately.
Several e-commerce platforms, including JD.com and Alibaba’s Tmall, have shelved Dolce & Gabbana’s products. (Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.)