BUSINESS

Versace apologizes after T-shirt labeling Hong Kong and Macao as countries inflames China

A child and a man sit in front of the ad of Versace in Shanghai in 2008. Versace has apologized in China for selling T-shirts that it said attached incorrect country names to cities, after a Chinese actress said the clothing was suspected of harming the country's territorial integrity and cut her ties with the company. Versace did not identify the T-shirt in a social media post Sunday but Chinese media said the item did not list Hong Kong and Macao as parts of China. | AP

Reuters

Aug 12, 2019

HONG KONG –

Italian luxury label Versace and its artistic director Donatella Versace apologized on Sunday after one of the company's T-shirts was widely criticized on social media in China for identifying the Chinese-controlled territories of Hong Kong and Macao as countries.

Versace, which was bought by Michael Kors' Capri Holdings Ltd. in September, said on its Twitter-like Weibo account that it had made a mistake and as of July 24 had stopped selling and destroyed the T-shirts.

Milan-based Versace is the latest company to become entangled in political issues involving China, which since last year has increased its policing of how foreign firms describe Hong Kong and Macao, former European colonies that are now part of China but run with a high degree of autonomy.