Versace has just lost its brand ambassador in China.
Chinese actress Yang Mi (楊冪) said she would end her cooperation with the luxury fashion label after a controversy erupted online over claims that a T-shirt design defied Beijing’s “one China” principle.
Yang, Versace’s first Chinese brand ambassador, issued a notice to the company to end her contract and stop all work with the brand after its T-shirt listed Hong Kong as a country rather than a territory.
Photo: CNA
It did the same for Macau.
Yang said Versace has harmed China’s sovereign and territorial integrity, according to a statement posted on Sunday on the official Weibo account of Jiaxing Xingguang (嘉行星光), the actress’s studio.
Versace has apologized and removed the T-shirt.
Versace’s T-shirt is the latest in a string of faux pas by foreign companies when it comes to dealing with China.
Earlier this year, Leica Camera AG 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.
Versace apologized on its Weibo account for the “wrong design” that incorrectly attached country names to territories.
The T-shirts were taken off shelves on July 24 and have been “destroyed,” it said.
“This is our negligence and we are deeply sorry about the impact we caused,” Versace said in the post, adding that it “resolutely respects China’s sovereignty.”
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