Russian women cut up Chanel bags in protest against the luxury brand’s ban on sales

In response to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, luxury fashion brand Chanel has imposed a ban on the sale of its products including clothes, perfumes and other luxury items to Russian customers abroad if they plan to take them back to Russia.
Earlier, Chanel had shut its boutiques in Russia along with several other companies that have halted their business in the country.
“The most recent EU and Swiss sanction laws include a prohibition on the ‘sale, supply, transfer or export, directly or indirectly, of luxury goods to any natural or legal person, entity or body in Russia or for use in Russia,” Chanel said.

This move the brand didn’t go down well with Russians who called it an act of “Russophobia” and cut up their Chanel bags in protest.
“Never seen any brand acting so disrespectful towards their clients as @chanelofficial #eeCHANEL,” wrote Russian model and actor Victoria Bonya, as she posted a video of herself cutting up a black sling bag from Chanel.

Another Russian celebrity Marine Ermoshkina stated that she is against “Russophobia”. “I am against a brand that supports Russophobia,” she wrote, as she destroyed her Chanel Bag. “If you need to sell the Motherland for Chanel, then I don’t need such a Chanel.”

DJ Katya Guseva followed suit and said, “I always dreamed that a #chanel handbag would appear in my wardrobe and it happened last year. But after I learned about the brand’s policy towards Russians, I decided to remove these bags from my daily life until the situation changes.”

While many supported these women, others called them out for ignoring the suffering of millions of people in Ukraine due to the Russian invasion.
“You talk about the ‘problem’ of buying a bag? What about the massacre of Bucha, Irpin, and Mariupol? Why you are not shocked and concerned about the massacre of civilians and kids? Why you don’t talk about this brutal war instead? This would make you a real fighter for justice,” a user commented on Bonya’s video.

Another user wrote: “Respect you? Maybe you should comment on atrocities and war crimes in Ukraine instead of acting like a victim…”
“Wow, people crying over their dead children and you are crying because of a handbag?!?! This is ultimate stupidity and you are showing it to the world proudly,” a user wrote, criticising the act of cutting up Chanel bags.
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