The latest promotional campaign launched by luxury house Balenciaga has garnered mixed reviews and attracted controversy. The campaign is in celebration of Qixi, also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day, which falls on August 25th. Luxury brands often capitalize on this occasion to introduce special edition products centered around love and romance. Balenciaga has chosen to revamp its Hourglass bag for this event, releasing limited edition versions adorned with calligraphy that reads “I love you,” “I love me,” “You love me,” or “He loves me.”
Criticism has primarily been directed towards both the design of the bag and the advertising campaign. Many consider the bag’s design to be too simplistic and opportunistic. However, it is the campaign itself that has sparked the most conversation. Balenciaga showcased the promotional photographs on their official e-shop hosted on TMall, operated by ecommerce giant Alibaba. The photographs feature models posing against animated backgrounds reminiscent of gifs, including waterfalls, butterflies, and flying hearts. Internet users have criticized this creative choice, labeling it as “dated,” “cliché,” and even “insulting” to Chinese culture. The topic has ignited discussions on the popular social network Weibo, where some users have compared Balenciaga’s Western campaigns, thought to be more attractive and modern, with this series of visuals. The hashtag #BalenciagaInsultsChina, in its Chinese form, has garnered over 6,000 discussions and 15 million views.
Balenciaga’s artistic director, Demna Gvasalia, is known for drawing inspiration from mass culture, whether retro or contemporary. In the past, he has referenced the Ikea shopping bag and created his own version of the Magic Tree, which resulted in a lawsuit. In June 2019, Gvasalia even staged a fashion show for his own label Vetements at a McDonald’s in Paris.
It is not the first time that Western luxury brands have faced criticism for their cultural missteps in China. Burberry’s New Year greetings for the Chinese New Year in 2019 received strong backlash, as did Dolce & Gabbana for a series of discriminatory teasers that led to widespread boycotts of the brand.
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