Versace apologizes for mislabeling HK, Macau as countries on T-shirt

Italian luxury brand Versace has apologized for mislabeling China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macau Special Administrative Region as countries on one of its T-shirt designs, The Beijing News reports.

A screenshot shows Versace's statement posted on its official Sina Weibo account on Sunday. [Photo: China Plus]

Versace issued the apology in a statement posted on its official Sina Weibo account on Sunday, saying that the brand had a wrong design and mislabeled some cities. The statement came a few hours after a Chinese netizen posted online photos of a Versace T-shirt featuring lists of "City - COUNTRY" on the back, including "Hong Kong - HONG KONG" and "Macau - MACAO."

Versace said that the mislabeled T-shirts were pulled and destroyed on July 24. The company also said that it supports Chinese sovereignty and territorial integrity in its statement.

A man walks by a billboard of Versace in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, July 19, 2014. [File Photo: IC]

Twelve minutes before the apology, Versace's Chinese brand ambassador Yang Mi had sent a notice to the company to cancel her contract with the brand and stopped all cooperation with it.