The fascinating & urban collection: kiss you China
The Chinese blog world and other media are in an uproar over a T-shirt collection by Philipp Plein, a Swiss fashion company that reportedly is upset by the effects of rampant Chinese counterfeiting of their products. Each of the 100 shirts in the limited-edition collection sports a label that with a not-so-subtle message for China spelled out in clear letters, which apparently is “greatly hurting Chinese people’s feelings.”
In response to the apparent slur, a group of Chinese in Germany have set up a blog named with a similar expletive aimed at Plein, where the entire incident is being chronicled in three languages. The folks who run the blog wrote to Plein to inform them in no uncertain terms that they are not very pleased with the naming strategy, and received a letter from the company that said, in part:
The PHILIPP PLEIN Int. AG company would like to explain what lies behind this abbreviation and give the following statement:
f.u.c.k.u.china stands for “the fascinating & urban collection: kiss you China”.
We would like to specify that we never intended to hurt or offend the citizens of China.
On the contrary, with this collection we wanted to thank China because it gives us the possibility to produce some articles of our collection on a competitive price basis. In addition, the man craft we found in China is very precise and leads to a good quality of the clothes.
This is a great satisfaction for us and for our end customers.
Unsatisfied with the response, the bloggers have published the following list of demands on their site, along with calls for a boycott against Plein if they are not met.
- Public apology by Philipp Plein
- Suspension of the production and sale of the offending shirts
- Apology on the company’s website
Even the Chinese Embassy in Germany got into the act, with a demand for an apology to the Chinese people.
There is no word yet whether Philipp Plein will ask for consideration as an official sponsor of the Beijing Olympics next year.
Thanks to remora and robin for spotting this, and to Mr. Pink.
“Each of the 100 shirts in the limited-edition collection” - I wouldn’t mind betting that those shirts have already been pirated and are available for sale in the street markets of Shanghai and Hong Kong right at this minute.
*robin is trying to hunt up some matching pants & jumper to complete a spiffy little outfit*
rem.
August 13th, 2007 at 3:11 pmwhat’s the Chinese word for fatwa?
August 13th, 2007 at 3:33 pm(*_*)
I’m putting an order in for 7 of them….
August 13th, 2007 at 5:20 pmone for everyday of the week (hope they come in different colours & styles).
like my male friends say…
August 13th, 2007 at 5:22 pm“if you see Kay tell her I want to”
now,now, robyn (don’t go telegraphing your punches) after all it’s plein to see that Phillip has struck a raw nerve and xposed the comrade’s complete inability to laff at themselves (god nose the rest of the planet is!).
The bottom line is they can dish it out - but they can’t take it.
They can round up a bunch of layabout yobs and pack em’ off to a sporting event and then start hurling abuse and paper cups…or get a rent-a-mob to break windows at the Japanese Embassy..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4427379.stm
I applaud you Phillip Plein - we need more like you.
remora
August 13th, 2007 at 8:13 pmi don’t know whether to read this as positive appraisal of Japundit or..or..something else?.
http://www.zhongnanhaiblog.com/2007/08/fucku_china_get_a_sense_of_hum.html
but then again, I’m not too well endowed intellectually.
rem.
August 14th, 2007 at 12:41 pmYeah, rem. It is hard to understand, isn’t it?
If you are still around, Cam (the author of the post that rem links), please understand that the reason people laugh at China is because as much as they like to dish it out, they just can’t take it very well at all. Governments of great nations don’t get upset over T-shirt slogans.
August 14th, 2007 at 12:53 pmMattel is set to recall more tainted toys. Not a week goes by it seems….
August 14th, 2007 at 1:54 pm(Minor point: Just noticed but “Podcasts we like” is spelled wrong in the right sidebar.)
Very appropriate toy comment RYO.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6943689.stm
(*_*)
REM.
August 14th, 2007 at 2:50 pmremora: The BBC article you linked to indicates that the name of the Chinese company at the heart of this controversy is “Lee Der Toy Company”. It’s a strangely appropriate name when you consider the nature of the particular problem in this case.
August 14th, 2007 at 3:11 pmRYO, Thanks for pointing out the typo. It’s fixed now.
August 14th, 2007 at 3:12 pmone poor soul offing himself isn’t going to fix the overall problem.
(my last China related comment for the week - it’s all starting to depress me).
rem.
August 14th, 2007 at 3:35 pmI wish they sold these in giant letters across the front.
August 14th, 2007 at 6:03 pmHi guys… just wanted to say you have a great site, and I check it as often as possible.
I certainly agree with your assessment, that China doesn’t take criticism very well. Try living and working here! That being said, it’s still a great place. Believe it or not, despite having a long way to go, food and product quality has increased here substantially over the last five years. (My old apartment, which was new 6 years ago, has almost crumbled to the ground already.)
Anyway, keep up the good work.
August 15th, 2007 at 2:54 pmJanus:”I wish they sold these in giant letters..” yes similar to my fondly remembered “Frankie Says” T-shirt from aeons ago. (sniff!sniff!).
(*_*)
rem.
August 15th, 2007 at 3:56 pm[...] maintaining that legendary quality? We like to point the finger at China and Taiwan as in posts here and here, but consider these recent major Japanese product [...]
August 23rd, 2007 at 4:01 am