The Empire Strikes Back

Today’s digital age and globalisation may have dissolved borders, but reality reveals a more harrowing undertone. Amy Yasmine explores how Asian mavericks are taking matters into their own hands, and keeping cool in the face of adversity.

In November 2018, Dolce & Gabbana released campaign teasers ahead of its #DGLovesChina show, one of which featured a Chinese model dressed in an overtly ornate frock, dripping in jewels, and struggling to eat pizza with a pair of chopsticks. Hours later, models and Chinese celebrities stormed out from the designers’ Shanghai produced show, while Instagram users—with much credit to @diet_prada—ran amok; “I can’t believe they made this” one user commented, while the words “SHAME ON YOU” glazed across another user’s comment. Needless to say, the video had since been taken down from the designers’ Instagram account, but certainly not before it made its damage. Many of its Chinese-based stores were shut down, and culminated in a projected loss of USD500 million, according to Reuters.