A Lady Dior exhibition at an art center in Shanghai on Friday has ruffled many feathers because of the way a woman was depicted in one of its posters to convey a Chinese look.

What irked many was the fact that the model, sporting a Dior handbag, had barely open eyes that were heavily shadowed and, also, she bore long artificial nails.

On social networking sites, many complained also about the dark and gloomy look the poster conveyed. Such was the fury that Dior deleted the poster from its official micro blog account. 

Some argued that Dior is a French company whose aesthetic standards might be different from that of Chinese people. But that's beside the point. The way the model is narrowing her eyes is indicative of how people in the West see people in East Asia. Lil Pump, a rapper in the United States, had triggered a similar uproar in 2018 when he posted a song video containing racially offensive lyrics and a squinty-eyed gesture. Such was the furor that he ultimately apologized. 

As a company that runs businesses globally, Dior should have known how not to arouse the Chinese and Asian people's anger, but they still chose to use the poster.

Also, the long artificial nails are not something ordinary Chinese women today sport. This was in fashion among only a few rich Chinese women from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Why use an outdated style from an era long gone by to label the Chinese women of today?

Although Dior deleted the poster from its micro blog, China's equivalent to Twitter, the matter should not be given a quiet burial this way. Dior must issue a formal apology to the Chinese people, women in particular, or the market will teach it a lesson.