"What a miss": Bottega Veneta receives backlash for tweaking Chinese New Year tradition

Bottega Veneta launched a new capsule to honor the Lunar New Year, a traditional holiday celebrated widely in China and other East-Asian countries. The brand came up with an envelope that was unconventional.

The label decided to make the traditional red envelope in a non-traditional way. It decided to drop the red from the hóngbāo and re-make the envelope in its signature color of yellow and green.

Fans were outraged by the inappropriate action taken by the label and their ignorance towards cultural sentiments. One netizen in particular called out the failure of the brand's marketing campaign:

"What a miss. Caring more about their branding colors to be consistent with the display on the Great Wall." - jacquietrevizo/Instagram

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Fans in outrage after Bottega Veneta uses yellow-green envelopes instead of the traditional red and gold

Fans outraged over the yellow envelope of Bottega Veneta on Instagram (Image via Sportskeeda)

Many luxury brands this year have made their Lunar New Year capsules for 2022. But Bottega Veneta caused a stir when yellow was used as the primary color for the envelope instead of the traditional red. Further, the envelopes featured the brand's name in bright green, providing stark contrast between the two colors.

This seems to be a card which is not festive or decorative but was created purely for the purpose of marketing.

This made many people furious and they felt it was a huge mistake. While the label wanted to celebrate the new year, it totally missed a significant tradition.

At the Lunar New Year, Chinese have a tradition of gifting family and friends with a bright led envelope. The envelope is filled with cash and is traditionally inscribed with gold writing. The color 'red' symbolizes good luck and prosperity in Chinese culture.

The bright red envelope, also known as hóngbāo (紅包) is a symbol of good luck and fortune, which lost its meaning when the brand commercialized the envelope with its signature colors.

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More about Bottega Veneta's sensational campaign

The brand celebrated Chinese Lunar Year in a grand style when it took over the Great Wall of China and branded it with Bottega Veneta.

The Italian luxury house used a massive digital screen to display 'Happy New Year' in Mandarin, branded with its own iconic shade of green and tangerine color.

Along with the installation, the label also announced it would donate money for renovation and maintenance of the Shanhai Pass, the easternmost stronghold of the Great Wall of China. The famous location is also known as the 'First Pass under Heaven.'

While everyone deeply appreciated the brand’s action and their contribution to the historical place and one of the seven wonders, The Great Wall of China, the branding was held controversial by many fans.