Burberry has infused its signature check pattern with red and white while inviting prestigious Chinese stars, such as actors Chen Kun and Tang Wei, to showcase its products.
However, mainland social media quickly likened the red and white check patterns with the similarly styled chequered laundry bags.
One item that features the pattern, is the brand’s mid-length chequered car coat, priced at 24,000 yuan (US$2,990). A laundry bag costs less than six yuan (US$0.84) on Taobao.
Taobao is the largest-ecommerce platform in China and is operated by the Alibaba Group, owner of the South China Morning Post.
Another design from the collection features a romantic red and white rose pattern, which was unfortunately linked by people to the beef slices in hotpot meals.
Bottega Veneta
The Italian high-fashion house’s Lunar New Year collection has won much applause from fashionistas.
By blending beautiful yet discreet dragon shapes into the detail of of handbags and jewellery, it was praised for paying tribute to this year’s zodiac sign in an understated manner.
However, one item from the collection, the Intreccio Nappa Dragon ornament, which costs 12,200 yuan, was met with a cooler response.
One person on Xiaohongshu, China’s equivalent of Instagram, said the emerald green toy made with surplus leather material looks like “a dragon getting an electric shock”.
Apple
Just as Apple released its highly anticipated mixed reality headset Vision Pro, another newly revealed product – a Year of the Dragon MagSafe case for the iPhone 15 series – went viral on mainland social media.
However, the product has faced an avalanche of criticism online, over its pricing.
Many people thought the price, 498 yuan (US$49.95), was unbelievable for “just a phone case” and counterfeit versions soon appeared, selling for as little as eight yuan.
Despite Apple promoting the case– which was designed by Chinese illustrator Yulong Lli – as an auspicious piece of artwork that “brings to life the Dragon’s bold personality”, some said the design did not even feature a dragon, as the creature it uses only has four claws.
Traditional belief says real dragons should have five claws, those with four claws are hornless jiaolong, or flood dragons.
Arc’teryx
The Canadian outdoor apparel brand became a rising star in the Chinese market amid the post-Covid boom in outdoor activities.
Its lunar new year jacket is said to have featured elements of dragon scales, and was soon snapped up by enthusiastic fans.
As a result of its popularity, the price of the outdoor gear jumped from the original 8,200 yuan (US$1,155) to 12,000 yuan in the second-hand market.
However, many were bewildered by its popularity, as they found it simply “too ugly”.
“Despite it being a product that appeals to the Chinese market, it seems that the designer does not know Chinese aesthetics at all,” one person said on Xiaohongshu.
