BEIJING, November 17 (TMTPOST) — Luxury fashion brand Dior is in hot water right now for a controversial photo displayed at its Dior and Art exhibition in Shanghai. Many Chinese netizens have described the photo as a “horror movie poster”.

The photo in question by famous Chinese photographer Chen Man showcases a Chinese model with freckled dark skin, gloomy squinted eyes, heavy dark makeup, long artificial nails, and greasy hair holding a Dior bag. Many Chinese netizens have found such portrayal of Chinese women to be offensive and racist, believing that it vilifies the image of Chinese and Asian women.

The photo’s photographer Chen Man has not responded to the controversy so far, but Dior has taken down the photo from its official Weibo page. Chen Man is also under fire for her work as some netizens believe that she purposedly made the photography work to cater to western aesthetics.

LVMH, the biggest luxurious fashion group in France and Dior’s parent company, saw year-on-year growth in revenues in Q1 this year and an 8% increase from that of the same period in 2019. High fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton and Dior had been strong contributors to growth, bringing about a year-on-year growth of 52%.

Asian markets, especially the Chinese market, have been important growth drivers for top luxury brands in the post-pandemic era. According to LVMH’s latest financial report, Asia contributed 48% of the total sales volume in Q1 2021, including the Japanese market which accounted for 7% of the sales volume. Asia is without a doubt the biggest regional market for LVMH.

Mainland China is also a huge market for luxury fashion brands today. According to a study by consulting firm Bain & Company and Chinese e-commerce platform Tmall, sales of luxurious goods in mainland China grew by 48% to around RMB346 billion (US$54.2 billion) in 2020. The report said that the market in mainland China might become the biggest market for luxurious goods by 2025.