From Versace's red handbag with a number 70 buckle to Givenchy's limited-edition T-shirt (each personally signed by Clare Waight Keller), luxury brands took notice of China's recent birthday (and all the pomp and procession that goes with it) and joined in on the celebrations.
For many brands, this was the first time that they had launched special edition products to celebrate the anniversary.
This comes almost a year on from the Dolce & Gabbana disaster (part of its "DG Loves China" series) where it showed a young Asian model (wearing a D&G dress) having trouble eating Italian foods like pizza, pasta and cannoli with chopsticks while a male narrator makes crude innuendos.
Have local lessons been learnt and is this a move by luxury brands to win back the trust of Chinese consumers by celebrating national pride?
It was only a short time ago that the Versace, Coach, Swarovski, and Givenchy T-shirt controversies agitated Chinese netizens regarding the brands’ ambiguous attitude towards Hong Kong and mainland China territorial issues. Many Chinese celebrities volunteered to resign from their brand ambassadorships, and Chinese consumers chastened the brands on social media or scratch them out of their shopping list.
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