The Borneo Post

D&G unveil Italian oomph at Milan after China fiasco

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DOLCE and Gabbana mixed checks, furry gloves and shimmering dressing gownstyle 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 AutumnWint­er 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.

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

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, fashion designer

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”. — AFP

 ??  ?? Models present creations for fashion house Dolce & Gabbana during its Men’s Fall/Winter 2019/20 fashion show in Milan on Saturday. — AFP photos
Models present creations for fashion house Dolce & Gabbana during its Men’s Fall/Winter 2019/20 fashion show in Milan on Saturday. — AFP photos
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