Top fashion houses bungle Chinese Zodiac-inspired releases

Giorgio Armani and Givenchy chose red for their makeup cases. [Photo/from Weibo.com]

Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) decided to go for gold. However, the "more is more" aesthetic of the YSL face palette is hard to reconcile with the French house's simple and chic image. Its normally elegant clientele is likely to steer clear of this garish palette, which also failed to appeal to the Chinese customers it was courting.

Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) decided to go for gold for their Year of the Monkey face palette. [Photo/Weibo.com]

Sadly, in going for what is traditional and perceived as "popular" in China - red and gold - these beauty products ended up looking common rather than exclusive. Instead of creating Chinese-inspired luxury, they end up cheapening the brand.

For brands grappling with omnipresent knockoffs in China, for example, Nike, taking Chinese culture emblems into their design might actually be counterproductive for anti-fake campaigns.

The US sportswear company's new Air Force 1 model has the Chinese lotus flower on the tongue, while the brand's Chinese translation, Nai Ke, is sewn into the back as Chinese characters. By doing this, the shoemaker put itself in an awkward position.