Lemaire faces backlash over alleged cultural insensitivity in China

French fashion house Lemaire has sparked a wave of public anger in China following a marketing campaign widely condemned as culturally insensitive and racially tone-deaf.

Despite a formal apology, the brand has struggled to quell the controversy, with many consumers dismissing its response as inadequate.

The backlash began when Lemaire shared a series of Instagram images to promote its new fragrance collection, Objets Senteur. One particular image featured a hand-woven linen pendant resembling a braided length of hair, positioned alongside a traditional Chinese long gown and a pair of scissors.

For Chinese audiences, the imagery was deeply provocative. The visual elements evoked the “queue,” the hairstyle Han Chinese men were historically forced to wear during the Qing dynasty.

The inclusion of scissors served as a particularly sharp trigger, as the cutting of the queue is a historical symbol of the end of imperial rule and a reminder of a traumatic era of national upheaval. Critics argued that the specific combination of the braid, the robe, and the scissors was far too deliberate to be a coincidence.

As criticism mounted, Lemaire initially deleted the images and disabled comments on its posts, a move netizens interpreted as an attempt to stifle dissent.

The brand eventually issued a bilingual apology via an Instagram Story, attributing the incident to "a failure to fully consider differences in perception and sensitivity across cultural contexts."

However, the response failed to pacify the public. Critics labeled the apology as "overly corporate" and "lacking genuine remorse," with many pointing out that using a 24-hour expiring Instagram Story felt like a dismissive attempt to let the issue disappear without a permanent record.

Notably, the controversy comes at a particularly sensitive time for Lemaire’s commercial ambitions in China. In January, the label opened its largest flagship store in the world on Shanghai’s Wukang Road. In March, it launched another flagship in Beijing’s Taikoo Li Sanlitun district.

Don’t miss: Swatch apologises for featuring 'slant eye' pose in promotional ad

Lemaire is not the first brand to face such accusations. Last August, Swiss watchmaker Swatch apologised for publishing an ad featuring a model making a “slant eye” gesture, which triggered backlash on Chinese social media.

In response to the backlash, Swatch released statements in English and Chinese on its Instagram and Weibo accounts, acknowledging concerns over the portrayal of the model in its ESSENTIALS collection.

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