Another day, another luxury brand runs afoul of political
sensitivities in China.
Less than 24 hours after Versace apologised for T-shirts
that defied China's "One China policy," American fashion label Coach
is now facing backlash from Chinese consumers for a strikingly similar faux
pas.
After pictures circulated online of a T-shirt allegedly sold
by Coach that suggests Hong Kong and Taiwan are countries, rather than cities,
calls grew over social media for a boycott of the Tapestry Inc-owned label.
Coach's brand ambassador, Chinese supermodel Liu Wen, said Monday on Weibo that
she would terminate her relationship with the brand for "seriously hurting
the Chinese people's feelings".
Coach did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Sunday, Versace apologised in an official Weibo post for a "wrong
design". Its T-shirts listed Hong Kong and Macau as countries, although
both are special administrative regions of China. The T-shirts were taken off
shelves on July 24 and have been destroyed, Versace said.
Coach and Versace's T-shirts are the latest in a string of
missteps by foreign companies in China. Last year, an advertisement from Dolce
& Gabbana that showed a Chinese model struggling to eat spaghetti and pizza
with chopsticks sparked outrage and a boycott of its products.
Earlier this year, Leica Camera quickly distanced itself
from a promotional video that prompted a backlash against the company in China
for partially focusing on the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests.
The T-shirt controversy comes as sensitivities around China
and Hong Kong have intensified in the past two months with anti-Beijing
protests in the city in their 10th week. This weekend, demonstrations spilled
over from city streets to a sit-in at the airport, the world's third-busiest in
terms of international passengers.
Versace's Chinese brand ambassador Yang Mi, an actress known
for films like Eternal Love and the Tiny Times series, said Sunday that she has
ended her relationship with the Italian fashion house because it has harmed
China's sovereign and territorial integrity. Versace designer Donatella Versace
apologised in a post on Instagram on Sunday for an "unfortunate error."