Dior in China under a E-reputation attack
In China, allegations of cultural appropriation against Dior have resurfaced. Netizens have accused the fashion house’s Fall 2022 items with “Jardin d’Hiver” motifs of imitating traditional Chinese painting techniques. The product description on the official Dior website describes the series as “a romantic and exotic interpretation of Monsieur Dior’s wall murals.”
Following the recent plagiarism problem involving traditional Chinese horse face skirts — to which the French luxury giant has yet to provide an official comment — this current controversy severely damages Dior’s reputation in mainland China. There are presently 3.5 million views of the hashtag #NewDiorProductsAllegedlyCopyingChineseFlowerandBirdPatterns on Weibo. Worse than that, angry users are racing to remark under Dior’s most recent posts on Twitter and Instagram, demanding an apology.
Even offline, a strong affinity for traditional Chinese attire has established itself. The Weibo hashtag #ChineseStudentsinParisProtestAgainstDiorCulturalAppropriation garnered over 440 million cumulative views in July, as a result of the ongoing outcry against Dior’s horse face skirt.
Following the recent plagiarism problem involving traditional Chinese horse face skirts — to which the French luxury giant has yet to provide an official comment — this current controversy severely damages Dior’s reputation in mainland China. There are presently 3.5 million views of the hashtag #NewDiorProductsAllegedlyCopyingChineseFlowerandBirdPatterns on Weibo. Worse than that, angry users are racing to remark under Dior’s most recent posts on Twitter and Instagram, demanding an apology.
Even offline, a strong affinity for traditional Chinese attire has established itself. The Weibo hashtag #ChineseStudentsinParisProtestAgainstDiorCulturalAppropriation garnered over 440 million cumulative views in July, as a result of the ongoing outcry against Dior’s horse face skirt.
Dior is well-versed in negotiating the subtleties of Chinese culture and innovating on the market, particularly in the metaverse and wellness areas. Nonetheless, the LVMH brand has had its share of gaffes in recent years; in 2021, the inclusion of a controversial image at its Dior & Art exhibition in Shanghai was an unanticipated roadblock. Due to the increasing patriotism of Chinese netizens and Dior’s inaction, this latest scandal continues to fester online.
While it is typical in the fashion industry to draw inspiration from foreign cultures, particularly China with its nearly 5,000 years of recorded history, concerns can emerge around cultural appreciation vs cultural appropriation. Chinese buyers have a problem not with Dior’s incorporation of traditional Chinese components, but with its description of the skirt as a “new design” and “signature Dior silhouette.” As stated in an opinion piece published by People’s Daily, “Copyright experts should join the discussion and utilize this incident as a springboard to explain the limits between plagiarism and citation, citation and homage.”
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