Russian influencers accuse Chanel of ‘Russophobia’ over sales ban

Russian influencers accuse Chanel of ‘Russophobia’ over sales ban

CASABLANCA: Several high-profile Russian influencers have accused Chanel of discriminating against them based on their nationality by refusing to sell them products, with some cutting up the company’s merchandise in protest. However, while wealthy influencers thought nothing of chopping up a $7,000 (minimum) luxury bag, much of the world was confused and angered by the misdirected outrage toward the fashion brand. “Meet @VictoriaBonya, a Russian influencer living in Monaco. Victoria is irate. Not because of rape, torture & killings inflicted on Ukrainians by Russian soldiers, but because Chanel is closing shop in Russia. She’s cutting up her Chanel bag in protest!” tweeted one social media user. Anna Kalashnikova, a Russian influencer with 2.4 million followers, reportedly claimed that a Chanel store in Dubai had refused to serve her. “Since I often travel to Dubai as a host for Fashion Week, Chanel managers recognized and approached me saying, we know you are a celebrity in Russia. We know you’ll be going there, so we can’t sell you our branded items,” she said. “Western shops ask for identification data, and when you (give them) a Russian number, sellers tell you: Now, we can only sell items to Russians if they promise that