The French fashion house Chanel only sells its handbags and collections to Russian citizens living abroad. This caused outrage among some wealthy customers, even the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry spoke out on social media.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Chanel boutiques around the world have halted sales to Russians or required additional proof in the face of US, EU and Swiss sanctions. The case of Chanel shows how tricky implementing sanctions targeting Russian companies and elites can be for fashion companies.
Chanel stops selling to wealthy Russians
The European Union bans the “sale, supply, transfer or export” of luxury goods valued at €300 or more to any person or entity in or for use in Russia, according to a regulation published in mid-March. Also, various EU, US and UK sanctions prohibit doing business with a list of individuals from Russia and Belarus.
Russia accounts for just a few percent of global sales for most luxury brands, but fashion houses like Chanel now have to be careful about who they’re selling to in individual transactions to avoid violating sanctions. “For this reason, we have put in place a procedure whereby we ask customers whose primary place of residence is unknown to us to confirm that the items they are purchasing are not to be used in Russia,” a Chanel spokesman said on Tuesday with.
These Chanel regulations became a major annoyance for some customers, for example when staying in Dubai. There are still direct flights from Moscow to the emirate, which has not yet joined the sanctions. But the well-heeled Russians with second homes or holiday destinations in Dubai were not able to shop at Chanel as usual.
Influencer cuts Chanel bag
Some Russian influencers, like Yana Rudkovskaya – who counts six million followers on Instagram – complained that as regular customers they once spent hefty sums but are no longer allowed to buy Chanel products. In protest at the “disrespect” TV presenter Victoria Bonya cut up a black leather Chanel handbag in a video post to her 9 million followers on Instagram, garnering over 60,000 likes.
When Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, joined the protests, it was perfectly clear that the French fashion house was caught between the fronts of a culture war. Well-known fashion brands like Chanel define themselves through more than their product, they are also status symbols and landmarks of western lifestyle and consumer society.
allegations of Russophobia
“A number of bloggers reported that official Chanel brand stores abroad refused to sell their products to Russian citizens,” Zakharova said in an Instagram post on Sunday.
“Apparently the managers of the ‘great Coco’ legacy have decided to join a Russophobic campaign to abolish Russia,” she continues, before addressing Coco Chanel’s dubious role in World War II. Incidentally, Zakharova is also on the list of individuals sanctioned by the EU.
“We are aware that this process of following the law has caused disappointment among some of our customers,” Chanel said. However, the company is currently working on improving this procedure and apologizes for “any misunderstandings”.