If you were following Fashion Twitter over the holiday, there was but one topic of conversation. No, it wasn't what you bought on Black Friday—it was the quick demise of Dolce & Gabbana's so-called The Great Show, a runway spectacular meant to be a "tribute to China," on November 21 in Shanghai.
The announcement that the Italian luxury brand was planning an extravagant event in China wasn't exactly surprising. Over the past year, we've seen brands like Victoria's Secret, Tommy Hilfiger, and Diesel stage fashion shows in Shanghai in an effort to attract the Asian market. Plus, Dolce & Gabbana had already done similar ones in Beijing and Hong Kong.
But the company, not unfamiliar with controversy, has run into some problems with this audience: Back in 2017, its Dolce & Gabbana Loves China campaign, shot in Beijing, received significant backlash on Weibo, the Chinese social media platform, for depicting what many perceived to be an underdeveloped and backward view of the city, according to Jing Daily. As Dolce & Gabbana began promoting The Great Show in Shanghai on social media, the brand once again started attracting attention—this time for what many characterized as trivializing, racist messaging.
Below, a quick rundown of The Great Show's great fall.
