Christian Dior SE is the latest international fashion brand to face criticism in China, after an exhibition in Shanghai featured a photo that state media said was "smearing Asian women.”
The photograph, included in the Lady Dior show, depicts an Asian woman dressed in a traditional costume and holding a Dior bag. It drew ire in an editorial published by the state-owned Beijing Daily on Monday with the headline: "Is This the Asian Woman in Dior’s Eyes?”
Shot by a local Chinese photographer, the image makes Chinese consumers feel uncomfortable, the report said. It features "spooky eyes, gloomy face, and Qing Dynasty-styled nail armor,” according to the article. Social media posts by Dior, newspapers and the photographer all drew angry responses from the public, though there’s been no talk of a boycott.
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