Wealthy Moscow socialites have been left enraged as Chanel blocks them from fleeing sanctioned Russia to buy their favourite accessories in Dubai.
The luxury brand pulled out of Russia in protest of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, but the rich-set didn't ban its regular forays abroad.
As Ukrainians and Russians are dying in the war by the thousands, they are raving about being banned from their favorite labels.
Russian interior designer and influencer Liza Litvin recounts how she was refused a Chanel bag at a top Dubai mall.
"I went to a Chanel boutique in the Mall of the Emirates," she posted furiously.
"They didn't sell me the bag because (attention!) I'm from Russia!!!"
She explained how Chanel has "a new order that they only sell after I've signed a piece of paper saying I will not wear this bag in Russia".
He exploded: "What?!"
Litvin explained how "they asked for my ID details and I gave my Russian phone number".
"Next, the manager said that starting today they were selling to Russians if they signed an agreement not to wear their items in Russia," she said angrily.
Several other Russian women complained that they faced similar slander in Paris, while a man was blocked in Italy.
Singer and leading TV fashion show presenter Anna Kalashnikova, 37, was also furious after Chanel stopped her from buying earrings and a bag in Dubai.
She told how a manager of the store told her: “We know you are a Russian personality.
"We know that you will be shopping in Russia, so we cannot sell our own brand goods."
She posted: "'Oops', I thought.
"Further I remembered that Coco Chanel was not only the mistress of a Nazi officer, but also an agent of a German intelligence agency.
"So this action of her brand really reminds me of her biography.
"It does little to support Fascism and Russophobia."
She announced that she would boycott the channel in future.
Influencer Yana Rudkovskaya, 47, a Moscow-based music show producer, wife of Olympic figure skating champion Evgeny Plushenko, was similarly horrified, but doesn't blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for being deprived of her favorite brand.
"It's a blow to a woman who's been buying Chanel and Chanel Haute Couture for over 20 years, and who's sitting front row at their shows," she said.
"Shock and shock."
She found the ban "somewhat outrageous", having spent over a million euros on the channel over the years.
Snezna Georgieva, 46, wife of billionaire Artem Zuev, the owner of a winery in Crimea, indicated that there were ways to pull strings and ban.
"I would love it when these brands are back," she said.
"But we do know some boutiques that are still open when a regular customer calls them."
Moscow Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the channel of being involved in a "Russophobia campaign to annex Russia".
She also insisted that "during World War II, Coco Chanel herself was an ally and agent of the Third Reich".
Russia was in the campaign against fascism in Ukraine, it claimed.
“Chanel House can return to normalcy and, as its producer, supports Nazism. But now everyone will know about it, ”said Ms. Zakharova.
Chanel's French headquarters confirmed the new policy, adding that it was forced to implement it because of EU and Swiss sanctions on luxury goods.
"The latest sanctions of the European Union and Switzerland prohibit the sale, directly or indirectly, of luxury goods to 'any natural, legal person or entity in the Russian Federation or for use in the Russian Federation'," the fashion house said. Statement.
So customers were asked to "confirm that the products they purchased would not be used in Russia".
The company said: "We understand that these measures in order to comply with the requirements of the law may cause some inconvenience to some customers.
"We are currently working to improve the process and apologize for any related misunderstandings and inconveniences."