Luxury house Christian Dior has come under fire for its latest campaign pictures shot for the Lady Dior exhibition in Shanghai. The picture in question showed an Asian woman with small eyes holding a Dior bag. The picture, captured by a Chinese photographer Chen Man was called out for perpetuating stereotypical notions about Asian people from the point of Western civilization.
The 41-year-old photographer issued a public apology on the Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo. She admitted to being ignorant and also apologized for her similar works in the past. “I blame myself for my immaturity and ignorance (in my past works)," she stated.
CHINA'S HEART OF GLASS....
A Chinese fashion photographer has apologised for her "ignorance" after a picture she shot for Dior sparked outrage.
Chen Man's photo showed a woman who some Chinese netizens said perpetuated Western stereotypes of Asian faces.— Mayte Chummia (@Maytechummia) November 24, 2021
Owing to the commotion, The French luxury brand too, issued a statement on the same micro-blogging platform. “Dior, as always, respects the sentiments of the Chinese people… If any errors happen, (Dior) must be open to receiving feedback and correct them in time," read the statement of the label. The luxury brand also stated that the above-mentioned picture was a piece of artwork for the exhibition and not meant for commercial purposes.
The 2nd picture wouldn't be the same since it's a reply to the first. At issue is this picture, which portrays an Asian woman in an unkemp, creepy/sinister look. Find me a Christian Dior promotional poster/material of a Caucasian being portrayed in a similar way. pic.twitter.com/EQvGnY0wMF
— Kris Lim (@klrc80) November 20, 2021
New work for French brand Dior, by Chinese photographer Chen Man, sparked controversy online in China.
Many Chinese netizens claiming it shows “beauty” under a “Western gaze”. pic.twitter.com/mI4e65l2ix— Tong Bingxue (@tongbingxue) November 18, 2021
Not many Chinese citizens were happy with the portrayal of Asian women from the Western gaze. An article from Beijing Daily called the model with ‘sinister eyes and a gloomy face.’ The picture has been taken down from all sites. This isn’t the first time a luxury brand has faced flak for cultural appropriation in China. Dolce & Gabbana’s controversy featuring a Chinese attempting to eat with chopsticks caused a great deal of sales decline in the country.
Lesson learnt the hard way? What are your thoughts on this?
(Source- News 18)
