DOLCE & GABBANA CRISIS

Risk and crisis communication

Dolce & Gabbana Crisis

By Anna Casas and Marta Falcón

R I S I S E X P L A N A T I O N

In 2018, Dolce & Gabbana launched an advertising campaign composed by three ads featuring a Chinese model wearing a dress of the Italian brand, while a male voice taught her how to eat typical Italian dishes with chopsticks, which she attempted in a supposedly comical way. The video received a great wave of criticism and was branded as racist towards the Chinese community, as a certain mocking and offensive tone could be perceived.

Afterwards, some messages that were derogatory to the Chinese population were published, apparently from one of the designers. The statement, under the name of Stefano Gabbana, appeared on an Instagram account, and he was referring to China as a “shithole country", "ignorant", that "smells like mafia". The firm assured that there were hackers responsible for publishing these insults, and they were later proven to be fake, but the damage had already been done. The firm had to cancel the fashion show they had planned in Shanghai, because the models decided not to attend in an act of protest. Also the actress Dilirebi, who was the brand ambassador, ceased her contract with the firm.

C R I S I S E X P L A N A T I O N

As for the actress who starred in the ad, she apologized and said that her career had been ruined: "I would never show any disrespect to my homeland. I love my country and I am proud to be able to represent China on the catwalks. I apologize to my countrymen."

The designers apologized in a video and claimed that it was all a misunderstanding: "We have always been in love with China, we have visited many cities, we love your culture and obviously we still have much to learn, so we apologize if we have made a mistake in our way of expressing ourselves.”

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana

Netprofit:60,5M€ A B O U T D O L C E & G A B B A N A

Dolce & Gabbana is an Italian fashion firm that was founded in 1985 by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. Although they began designing clothing, the company ha offer, designing everything from acces mobile phones and even restaurants.

Name:Dolce& Gabbana

Yearoffoundation:1985

Founders:DomenicoDolceandS

Gabbano

Headquarters:Milan,Italy

Products:clothes,accessories,foo sunglasses,bags,watches,jewelry andcosmetics

Income:1.290M€(2017/2018)

History of the brand

Presentationoftheir1stcollection,calledDonna-Donna

Firstmen'sproductlineisintroduced

PartnershipwithMadonna

DesignofKylieMinoguetour’soutfits

InaugurationofthefirststoreinSpain

Publishingofthebook20YearsDolce& Gabbanaforthebrand’sanniversary

Launchofthefirstfemalewatchescollection

PresentationofthefirsthijabcollectionforArabianconsumers

Chineseracismcrisis

A

A B O U T D O L C E & G A B B A N

Mission

Todesign,produceanddistributehigh-endclothing,leather goods,footwearandaccessoriesundertheDolce&Gabbana brand,aswellasmanage,throughitslicensees,the productionanddistributionofthefragrances,make-up,eyewear,timepiecesandjewelslines.

Values

Brand identity

The brand's logo used to feature a combination of white, gold, and black colors. White symbolized purity and flawlessness, while gold represented accomplishments and triumphs. The color black, which exudes sophistication, glamour, and luxury, is included in all their clothing pieces. Now, the has been simplified, and is black.

Despite presenting itself as a new and unconventional luxury brand, the company remains grounded in its Sicilian roots and Mediterranean heritage.

U T D O L C E & G A B B A N A

B O

A

Target

DG is a luxury brand that caters to customers with unique personalities, such as trendsetters, innovators, and fashion enthusiasts. They serve a wide age range, from infants to 50-yearold's. The brand's clientele includes aristocrats, socialites, celebrities, and everyday individuals seeking premium products.

Their dessigns

Dolce and Gabbana are renowned for their intricate animal prints, Italian staples, black lace, pinstripes, and other signature designs. The designers established the brand's identity early on in their careers, creating numerous iconic designs that have influenced the fashion industry worldwide. Today, their innovative creations continue to shape the Italian fashion industry.

Spring collection 2021

R E V I O U S C O N T R O V E R S I E S

In the past, the Italian fashion brand has been through many polemic situations, mostly for releasing campaigns that had to be canceled due to violent portrayals, making statements in social media without any filter and publicly criticizing other celebrities. For these reasons, the hashtag #BoycottDolceGabbana has been trending topic on several occasions.

2006

D&G appeared in a MotoRazr campaign that showed one of the designers holding the phone like a barber's razor while the other sported a red cut on his face. The campaign received 160 complaints, mainly concerning the glamorization of violence.

2007

D&G launched an advertisement in the UK depicting the aftermath of a knifing. It was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority after attracting 166 complaints because of the violent portrayal.

Later the same year, another campaign was launched showing a woman pinned to the ground by the wrists by a bare-chested man, with other men in the background looking on. The images in question were pulled shortly after their release for the spring/summer campaign.

P R E V I O U S C O N T R O V E R S I E S

2nd April 2014

The designers publicly stated that they don’t think Victoria Beckham would be a good designer. They said "She's a friend. She makes a good job but... for us, she don't make the same way like a fashion designer”. When asked if the design duo admired Beckham's work, Gabbana struggled for words: "She's a fashion designer but it's another... it's different. John Galliano is a designer... Alexander McQueen."

24th October2014

In 2012 the brand was accused of tax evasion by the Milan Prosecutor's Office, arguing that the Gado company, created in 2004 to manage Dolce & Gabbana, had not declared 200M €. Finally, they were cleared of any charges after two years of legal proceedings.

15th March 2015

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana told the Italian magazine Panorama that they “oppose gay adoptions. The only family is the traditional one. Without chemical descendants or rented wombs: life has a natural course, there are things that should not change.” Dolce said: "You were born from a mother and a father, or at least that's how it should be. I call them children of chemistry, synthetic children. Wombs for rent, semen chosen from a catalog".

Elton John, who had two children with his husband David Furnish, promoted a boycott from his Instagram account joined by a multitude of celebrities and people on Twitter.

Celebrities such as Ricky Martin, Victoria Beckham, Courtney Cox, Ellen Degeneres and Portia di Rossi positioned themselves in John’s side.

P R E V I O U S C O N T R O V E R S I E S

18th June2017

Miley Cyrus’s brother Braison Cyrus catwalked in the men’s D&G show, and she posted a couple pics congratulating him, openly stating that she is against the brand’s policies. Stefano Gabbana responded with comments saying "Ignorant!!!", making it clear that thanks to her they would not hire their brother again, plus the hashtag #boycottdolcegabbana. Finally he uploaded a picture dedicated to the controversy stating that they are not interested in politics, they only make dresses, and asking her to ignore them.

18th April 2018

Stefano commented a thumbs down in a post featuring Victoria Beckham, continuing the conflict from 2014.

9th June2018

The fashion portal The Catwalk Italia posted a photo of Kate Moss in which she is seen in a black jumpsuit when she attended the Saint Laurent show in New York

They asked their then more than a 1,5M followers

"#KateMoss in #SaintLaurent

¿yes or no?" ... to which the designer simply wrote: 'No.'.

P R E V I O U S C O N T R O V E R S I E S

14th June2018

Stefano Gabbana commented on a post about the celebrity Selena Gomez “She’s so ugly!”. Not enough with posting his comment in English, he reposted “È proprio brutta!” which means the same in italian.

The next day, he posted a new image on his Instagram stories making fun of everything that happened. “My name is Selena! Apologize to me”, the designer wrote in a screenshot of the publication.

2nd September2018

Stefano commented “Cheap” when in a post of Chiara Ferragni’s wedding dress in the Harper’s Bazaar UK Instagram account, in which she was wearing a dress from Dior. Diet Prada echoed from his comments and also positioned itself against him.

T H E R C O N T R O V E R S I E S

Runway show with “blackamoor” imagery which is based off of racist stereotypes and usually associated with depictions of slavery.

Attended a “disco africa” themed halloween party, where a picture is taken with someone in blackface (designer Alessandro Dell’acqua).

Released the “slave” sandals.

Released the “i’m thin & gorgeous” sneakers. In response to the backlash, gabbana responded with “darling you prefer to be fat and full of cholesterol??? i think u have a problem”

Offensive Chinese ad campaign featuring D&G clad models posing among locals. The images were heavily criticized by Chinese consumers, who claimed the campaign stereotyped china, depicting a “backward” view of the country.

T Y P E O F C R I S I S

Ethicsoffense

Chinese community receives insults from brand's CEO

Racialdiscrimination

The ad used stereotypes to make humor, in a way that ridicules Asian culture and is offensive.

Publicconcern

The polemic went viral on social media and was in the center of the public eye.

P U B L I C S M A P

Shareholders

Potential Loyal

International socialmedia users

Financial journals, fashion media

Specialized General

Clients

Chinese societyand government

Organizers

Fashion show

Media

Protagonistofthe ad

D&G workers

Guests

Models Staff

Competence

Designers

Providers and retailers

D&G influencers, celebrities andactors

Phase 1: Before the crisis

D&G local marketing team in China warned the company not to proceed with the campaign, but their advice was overruled.

Phase 2: The crisis

Sunday, November18th

The brand releases three ads featuring a Chinese model clumsily eating Italian food with chopsticks. People quickly react negatively in social media. In 24h the videos are deleted. #BoycottDolce was created.

Monday, November19th

@diet prada (3,3M) shares the video on their profile with translations.

Domenico Dolce talks to a Vogue journalist in a fitting, and states that there is too much censure and little creative freedom, and that they love to respect local cultures.

Tuesday, November20th

Stefano Gabbana sends racist messages from his personal account to Instagram to users who had called out the brand. Some actors and influencers announce publicly that they will not attend the show.

Wednesday, November21st

The brand claims the designer’s and brand’s Instagram accounts were hacked, even though they had been posting regular content during that time.

The Chinese Cultural and Tourism Department ordered DG to cancel the show in Shanghai hours before it was scheduled.

C R I S I S T I M E L I N E

Thursday, November22nd

Some journals publish chronicles about the impact of the polemic in the Chinese market Chinese e-commerce sites stop selling the brand’s products Some Chinese influencers post videos burning and breaking D&G goods

Friday, November23rd

D&G publishes a video apologizing and ask for forgiveness.The apology video was posted on the official Weibo account in China. A woman asks for a refund stating that she no longer wants to wear the brand products, but the brand answers that it is not possible. A screenshot of the conversation is published on social media.

Phase 3: After the crisis

Chinese models and celebrities terminated their contracts with D&G all at once.

Actress Zhang Ziyi announced that she would never purchase or wear the brand again through her studio.

Charmaine Sheh, a Hong Kong actress, faced criticism online for liking one of the brand's Instagram posts.

Zuo Ye, the model who starred in D&G's controversial 2018 videos, claimed that her career had been almost destroyed and that she, her family, and her agent had been subjected to numerous online attacks and threats.

In June 2021, the pop singer from Hong Kong Karen Mok, was criticized on social media for wearing a cloak from DG in a music video.

China's e-commerce giants, Alibaba and JD.com, removed D&G products from their online stores.

C R I S I S T I M E L I N E

Phase 4: Effects of the crisis

The brand still struggles to win the Chinese market. As of now, the brand has only 47 boutiques in China, compared to 58 in 2018, and some of its shops in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu had to shut down.

Being excluded from China's luxury consumer market is not a avorable position to be in, as it was estimated to have doubled in size to $54 billion in 2020. In contrast, D&G's Asia-Pacific market experienced a 3% decrease between March 2018 and 2019, and documents indicated the brand expected a further decrease in sales for the subsequent year.

Having analyzed previous controversies from the brand and the designers, we have detected a pattern of behavior: the brand provokes a controversy that goes viral on social media, and after a few days they apologize. These polemics often revolve around issues of discrimination and lack of cultural sensitivity. All of this makes it look like the brand is doing it on purpose.

Therefore, we arrived to two conclusions:

On the one hand, it's possible that it all is part of a marketing strategy to put the brand in the public spotlight and gain notoriety. This way, they would be provoking these reputation crises on purpose. This strategy involves generating controversy around the brand in the hope that the attention generated, even if negative, will lead to greater awareness and, ultimately, higher sales. However, this strategy can be risky, as it can also damage a brand's reputation and dissuade consumers from buying its products or services.

On the other hand, it is possible that it is simply the designers’ ego which is causing these crises. Maybe they are not sensitive and they don't care if their comments affect others, they just do as they please without listening to the advice from their marketing team.

We must also take into account that their target are wealthy consumers, and therefore it is very likely that they don’t care about the reputation of the brand, so getting into controversies doesn’t damage their sales as much as it would hurt other brands. R E L A T I O N W I T H P R E V I O U S C O N T R O V E R S I E S

Positive aspects

Apologies

The company apologized publicly through a video.

Commitment

Explanation

Removalof campaignvideos

It’s positive because it shows remorse.

Negative aspects

Socialmedia mismanagement

Steffano Gabbana worsened the crisis by making derogatory comments.

Slowresponse

They waited too long to make a public apology, which led to further criticism from consumers and the media.

The brand used its Weibo account (the Chinese version of Twitter) to communicate with the Chinese public and issue apologies in their native language.

The company gave an explanation for the racist insults, arguing that it had been a hacker.

Insensitivead campaign Excuses

The initial ad campaign was seen as insensitive and offensive by many Chinese consumers, as it was seen as mocking their culture.

Lies

They said that they had been hacked but meanwhile they kept posting regular content on their accounts, so it seems like it was a lie.

In the next-day interview with a Vogue journalist, Domenico Dolce could have apologized and instead he excused himself stating that nowadays there is too much censure and little creative freedom.

N O NC O M M U N I C A T I O N

It can also be considered negative because deleting content from social networks may denote a lack of transparency, and a priori it is better not to do so

Positive aspects

The brand's communication during the crisis was insufficient, which fueled further anger from consumers and the media, raising questions about its commitment to diversity and inclusion.

It seems that the brand did not have an action plan to face the crisis situation in which it found itself.

This can be understood as an acknowledgment of guilt.

Negative aspects

Parallelperformance

They did not listen to the DG local team in China and they launched the campaign.

They have continued to invest in the Chinese market, which is a kind gesture from the brand towards Chinese culture.

Lackofempathy

Throughout the crisis, D&G's response was perceived as lacking in empathy and understanding of Chinese culture and consumer sentiment.

C H A N G E O F P R O P O S A L

In the first place, they should have listened to their marketing team and not launched the campaign, as they were experts and knew about the Asian market and culture.

We think they should have apologized earlier.

Domenico should have avoided making excuses.

They shouldn’t have made derogatory comments.

They shouldn’t have lied saying there were hackers in their accounts.

We would have compensated the victims of the crisis in some form: the actress of the videos, the DG influencers, the models of the show, workers of the company, and the Asian market as a whol

When they apo do not address a to the protagon video nor do the for the damage have caused to personally.

They promised that what happened would not be repeated, but after that the company got into controversy again.

As for the non-verbal communication during the press release, they should have looked at the camera and moved their hands.

L E A R N I N G S

The importance of apologizing and being humble. It seems as if the designers did not understand the critics nor the extent of the crisis, and they apologized only to take care of the brand’s image.

We think it’s no coincidence that DG has been involved in so many conflicts. Nowadays, we receive an infinity of inputs on a daily basis. For this reason, brands live in a constant struggle to win the battle for attention and capture the public's interest. DG has found a way to differentiate itself from its competitors that is relatively easy to execute. Getting on everyone's lips by insulting or disparaging certain segments of the population has become their marketing strategy in recent years. These situations have led DG to increase its notoriety and have been positively reflected in its turnover. Indeed, in America, sales increased to 16% of 201819 revenue from 13% in the prior year.

It’s important to prepare for possible crises and to listen to all your workers and experts, as they might prevent your organization from getting a bad reputation.

In addition, most of the controversies linked to the brand involve women. They have received misogynistic insults from the designers, who judged their bodies and behavior.

The importance of aligning theory with practice. Brands define themselves with values, but it is in their actions that this is shown. One of Dolce & Gabbana's values is "respect for people," yet the brand and its designer have a history of disrespecting and insulting others.

TurnoveroftheItalian luxury fashion companyDolce&Gabbana from2011to 2021(in million euros)

R E F E R E N C E S ( M L A )

Adland. “Dolce & Gabbana knife ad axed by ASA.” Adlandtv, 10 January 2007, https://adland.tv/adnews/dolce-gabbana-knife-ad-axed-asa/1168446369

Duncan, Amy. “Dolce & Gabbana under fire again after 'gang rape' advert days after IVF furore | Metro News.” Metro UK, 18 March 2015, https://metro.co.uk/2015/03/18/dolce-gabbana-in-hotwater-again-after-gang-rape-ad-campaign-resurfaces-just-days-after-ivf-furore-5108624/

El Mundo. “Dolce y Gabbana: 'Victoria Beckham es diseñadora pero... como H&M.'” El Mundo, 3 April 2014, https://www.elmundo.es/loc/2014/04/03/533d6376ca4741456b8b4579.html

Harper’s Bazaar. “Stefano Gabbana llama fea a Selena Gomez e incendia Internet.” Harper's BAZAAR, 14 June 2018, https://www.harpersbazaar.com/es/moda/noticiasmoda/a21414187/stefano-gabbana-llama-fea-selena-gomez-instagram/

Harper's Bazaar “A Stefano Gabbana no le ha gustado el vestido de novia de Chiara Ferragni ” Harper's Bazaar, 3 September 2018, https://www harpersbazaar com/es/famosas/el-estilode/a22903339/stefano-gabbana-chiara-ferragni-vestido-dior/

Harper's Bazaar “Miley Cyrus contra Dolce & Gabbana ” Harper's BAZAAR, 19 June 2017, https://www harpersbazaar com/es/moda/noticias-moda/a326561/miley-cyrus-contra-dolcegabbana/

Hills, Megan C , et al “The Dolce & Gabbana Karen Mok backlash shows label is still struggling to win back China ” CNN, 16 June 2021, https://edition cnn com/style/article/dolce-gabbanakaren-mok-china/index html

Koetse, Manya “Overview of the Dolce&Gabbana China Marketing Disaster Through Weibo Hashtags ” What's on Weibo, 2018, https://www whatsonweibo com/understanding-thedolcegabbana-china-marketing-disaster-through-weibo-hashtags/

Lepper, Joe “D&G courts more controversy over violent advertising images ” Campaign, 14 March 2007, https://www campaignlive co uk/article/d-g-courts-controversy-violent-advertisingimages/643677

Mailonline. “Stefano Gabbana leaves a VERY catty comment on Kate Moss photo.” Daily Mail, 12 June 2018, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5833949/Stefano-Gabbana-leavescatty-comment-Kate-Moss-photo.html

Newbold, Alice. “Why Dolce & Gabbana aren't sold on Victoria Beckham's designs - Telegraph.” Fashion, 2 April 2014, http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG10739034/Why-Dolceand-Gabbana-arent-sold-on-Victoria-Beckhams-designs.html

Pérez, Almudena. “Dolce & Gabbana declarados inocentes de evadir impuestos.” Trendencias, 24 October 2014, https://www.trendencias.com/noticias-de-la-industria/dolce-gabbanadeclarados-inocentes-de-evadir-impuestos

Sobrado, Natxo “Elton John promueve un boicot contra Dolce & Gabbana por su oposición a la adopción entre gays y los niños "sintéticos "” Trendencias, 16 March 2015, https://www trendencias com/disenadores/elton-john-promueve-un-boicot-contra-dolcegabbana-por-su-oposicion-a-la-adopcion-entre-gays-y-los-ninos-sinteticos

Statista “Dolce & Gabbana: turnover in 2011-2021 ” Statista, 23 August 2022, https://www statista com/statistics/675280/turnover-of-italian-company-dolce-and-gabbana/

Tashjian, Rachel “A Full Timeline of the Crisis at Dolce & Gabbana ” Garage Magazine, 26 November 2018, https://garage vice com/en us/article/7xyk8a/dolce-gabbana-racist-ad