Assignment part-b:

Find a fashion brand case and address an issue that they faced and
recovered it gracefully. Analyze the situation with suitable
marketing theory.

The process of developing, promoting & distributing products to satisfy consumer needs and
wants is known as Fashion Marketing. We know fashion marketing is the same as promotion and
high rated brands can go to any extend to promote their brands because their brand name is what
that at the end of the day earns them a recognized reputation. Although high name fashion brands
are thought to be always careful when it comes to dealing with their loyal customers and their
branded products; there are some brands that they do end up making mistakes for which they get
highlighted in the public media. One such example of a high end brand would be Dolce &
Gabbana.

Overview of the brand:

In 1986 they produced their first collection, called "Real Women." In 1987 they launched their
knitwear line and in 1989 their beachwear and lingerie lines. Beginning in 1988 they produced
their ready-to-wear line in Domenico Dolce's family-owned atelier, located in Legnano, Milan.
The first Dolce & Gabbana men's collection appeared in 1990. In 1994 they launched the D&G
label, inspired by street style and a more youthful look. The clothes were produced and
distributed by Ittierre. The company launched several fragrances, including Dolce & Gabbana
Perfume, By Dolce & Gabbana, and Dolce & Gabbana Men. One of their perfume ads was
directed by the Italian film director Giuseppe Tornatore, with whom Dolce and Gabbana
developed a close relationship, going on to act in his 1996 film The Star Maker. They introduced
a line of eyewear under the Dolce & Gabbana and D&G labels and produced music CDs.
Dolce & Gabbana Issues Apology to China After Backlash Over
Ads: the founders of Dolce & Gabbana issued an apology after outrage over a recent
advertising campaign that led to the postponement of their Shanghai fashion show.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana faced a widespread backlash over commercials
because of this incident that took place while promoting their 2018 Shanghai show. The
adverts featured a Chinese woman attempting to eat Italian food with chopsticks. (cultural
difference and not proper care of market segmentation).

In a video, the designers apologized for the insensitive advertisements which many
viewers had found to be racist. The commercials caused an uproar on social media and
thousands of the high-end fashion house’s products were removed from China’s biggest
shopping websites (which also made them lose many of their loyal Chinese customers).
Dolce&Gabbana was forced to cancel the Shanghai fashion show before it was even
scheduled to begin due to celebrities boycotting the event and the models reportedly
refusing to participate.

Dolce & Gabbana has lost the Chinese brand ambassadors who once spread its name but now
either don’t want to work with it or fear the criticism they might face if they did. China has a
powerful online cancel culture which means when they sense racism indirectly or directly
pointed at their culture; their mass media, citizens and even their celebrities come together and
start boycotting everything.
Will Dolce & Gabbana ever redeem itself in China? It doesn’t just depend on the fashion
watchers and its target audience; the entire society must forgive the brand — and it will exert
pressure from all angles if it’s still angry. As such, fashion media in China has rarely featured the
brand’s collections over the last two years, Chinese models won’t walk their runways, and
Chinese celebrities, KOLs, and online retailers have cut ties with the brand.

But there is a glimmer of hope for D&G in China: A few young fashion fans actually did
appreciate its new line and campaign in China. At the end of July 2020, through a paid
partnership with SuperELLE (a Hearst-published quarterly magazine and digital media platform
for millennials and Gen Zers), the brand dressed the media company’s virtual idols, Sam and Liz,
in its new collection and won some positive comments on SuperELLE’s Weibo post.

The societal marketing concept is an emerging one that emphasizes the welfare of society. It’s
based on the idea that marketers have a moral responsibility to market conscientiously to
promote what’s good for people over what people may want, regardless of a company’s sales
goals. Employees of a company live in the societies they market to, and they should advertise
with the best interests of their local community in mind. 

Dolce & Gabbana 2007 Advertisement controversy:

Critics have slammed the brand's highly controversial Spring/Summer back in their 2007
campaign ad that showed a woman being restrained by a bare-chested man as a group of men in
various states of undress look on. Spain's Labour and Social Affairs Ministry branded the
campaign as illegal and humiliating to women, saying the woman's body position had no relation
to the products Dolce & Gabbana was trying to sell. Italian publications followed suit, banning
the ad. This advertisement was called "a glorification of gang rape" and declared "one of the
most controversial advertisements in fashion history" by Debonair Magazine. When asked about
the ad being banned in Spain, Dolce & Gabbana responded that the "Spaniards were a bit
backward."

Luxury brands cannot afford to be tone-deaf. Fighting a branding crisis in the world's largest
luxury market is no picnic, but thus far D&G have failed to be authentically apologetic. The
company would do well to acknowledge its mistakes and listen to its customers and social media
commentary. The consequences of bad advertising leads to bad marketing image failure which in
this 2007 ad controversy case has happened with the High end brand. Bad marketing hampers the
trust between the seller and buyer and alienates potential customers.

In the apparel industry, conforming to recognized standards of production is one of the most

important steps in order to produce high-quality products while achieving production goals and
maximizing profits. For Dolce & Gabbana the enhancement of creativity and professional skills
is a key objective to allow each and every person contributing to the achievement of the
corporate mission to be able to express their individual potential to the full.