To no one's surprise, the screenshots went viral. Later, the official account of D&G claimed on Instagram the designer's personal account had been "hacked". The designer said his legal office was working on the issue, claiming he "loves China and Chinese culture" and is "sorry for what happened."

Most Chinese netizens did not buy this "sincere apology", dismissing the statements of regret as the result of compromise.

Quite a few Chinese celebrities including Zhang Ziyi, Li Bingbing, Wang Junkai and Chen Kun had confirmed their absence from the brand's "The Great Show" fashion show before the brand announced cancellation officially. 

The brand's China ambassador Dilraba Dilmurat has deleted all posts related to the brand and said on Weibo, "I love you, my dearest country, China."

This is not the first time the fashion circle has attracted controversy. Last year, popular model Gigi Hadid was pulled out of the Victoria's Secret fashion show in Shanghai after she caused offense by impersonating the Buddha and mocking Asians in an Instagram video.

After the controversy, the model wrote on social media: "It hurts me to hurt anyone, and I want you all to know that it was never my intent to offend anyone through my actions and I sincerely apologize to those who were hurt or felt let down by me."