Women take shopping sprees seriously. And getting in their way could mean awakening the beast in them. Don’t believe us? Here’s proof. After being denied the purchase of their favorite Channel accessories by the marquee, Russian women recently decided to protest on social media.
They expressed outrage online by cutting down their expensive Chanel bags while accusing the marquee of resorting to ‘Russophobia.’ Displaying wrath, TV presenter, PR agent, and actress Marina Ermoshkina said, ‘Not a single item or brand is worth my love for my motherland and my self-respect.’
She further added, ‘I am against Russophobia, and I am against Russophobia-supporting brands. If owning Chanel means selling my motherland, then I don’t need Chanel… For us Russian women, having Chanel is not significant. It was we who were the face of this brand. Since childhood, we have dreamed about buying this bag. But no bag, or anything else, is above my love for my motherland or my self-respect.’
Resorting to similar tactics, DJ Katya Guseva, with 587,000 followers, said: ‘I am saying ‘No’ to Chanel. They are forcing me to sign a humiliating document, forcing me to reject my motherland in favor of their brand. I am against Russophobia and against segregation by nationality. To show you I am serious; I will simply cut up this bag. I don’t need it anymore. Bye-bye, Chanel.’
Monaco-based model, businesswoman, and influencer Victoria Bonya, Russian ex-pat travel blogger Sharli Prokopif and several others also followed suit by ripping apart their pricey Channel bags. The protest comes in after Channel pulled out of the country and even refused to sell to Russians in countries such as Dubai.
However, the online outrage received a mixed response. While one user commented, ‘Why don’t they worry about the Ukrainian deaths Putin has caused? And the Russian soldiers being sent to their slaughter like cannon fodder? Instead, they do this childish stunt with scissors,’ another added:
‘These babes are hyping by cutting up their Chanel bags as a way to protest against the brand’s idiotic policy. It is frankly as silly as it was to ask them to sign some paperwork in Dubai… it looks like a well-organized, staged action.’ Well, safe to say that the Russia-Ukraine war has reached wardrobes too!