Russian influencers have recorded themselves cutting up Chanel products after the fashion house restricted its products to people in the country.
As reported by Insider, the luxury French brand announced last month that it would be closing its stores in Russia, announcing the news on LinkedIn. "We will no longer deliver into Russia, we will close our boutiques, and we already suspended our e-commerce," the company wrote.
The company became one of many top brands and services to cease or restrict its services in Russia following President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Additionally, per BBC News, Chanel announced earlier this week that it is no longer selling its products to people who intend to take them to Russia. The company said it was simply complying with European Union (EU) sanctions, which ban the sale of luxury goods priced at more than €300 ($327 USD) to Russia.
In response to the news, some Russian influencers have taken to social media to share videos of them destroying their Chanel products.
In one clip, posted to Instagram, Russian model Victoria Bony says: "If Chanel House does not respect its clients, why do we have to respect Chanel House?"
Check it out below:She then takes a pair of large scissors to her quilted Chanel handbag, destroying it for her 9.3 million to see.
Bony captioned the post: "Never seen any brand acting so disrespectful towards their clients as @chanelofficial".
And on Wednesday, Russian TV presenter and actor Marina Ermoshkina used a pair of garden shears.
Ermoshkina wrote in the post's caption: "Not a single bag, not a single thing is worth my love for my Motherland. It's not worth my respect for myself. I am against Russophobia, I am against a brand that supports Russophobia."
She continued:
"Chanel is just an accessory. An accessory that at some point decided to humiliate people, my compatriots, decided to discriminate against people on the basis of nationality, which I will not tolerate."
In a statement to BBC regarding the sanctions, Chanel said it "complies with all laws applicable to our operations and employees worldwide, including trade sanction laws".
Officials for the company continued: "This is why we have rolled out a process to ask clients for whom we do not know the main residency to confirm that the items they are purchasing will not be used in Russia."
"We are currently working on improving this approach and we apologize for any misunderstanding this may have caused," the company added."Welcoming all our clients, regardless of where they come from, is a priority for Chanel."
