This photo was doctored to include the Chinese character for 'demolition' on the model's outfit

The photo was published here on Facebook on November 15, 2021.

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A screenshot, taken on December 6, 2021, of the misleading post.

"The Chinese element in Paris Fashion Week turns out to be the word "demolition"," says the post, which is written in traditional Chinese.

"Designer Bvien said that he was inspired during his trip to China. He saw this word all over China. When he asked the locals the meaning of it, they told him: This word in China means that the family will become prosperous, it is a symbol of a happy life, and has the same meaning as the word 'Blessing'..." the post continues.

The photo in the post shows a model wearing black-and-white trousers, a sleeveless top, and a conical hat, with a Chinese character on the top. The character that appears is "chai", which translates to English as "demolition".

An identical photo was shared on Facebook, Twitter, and Weibo alongside a similar claim. 

Demolition and evictions in China

Typically when a building in China is scheduled to be demolished, the character "chai" is written in red paint in a circle on the building's wall.

Sometimes demolitions result in forced evictions, prompting protests. 

Some comments on the misleading posts referred to the demolition process in China. 

“The so-called 'demolition households' get a lot of money'," one person commented. 

"Really depends whether it is forced evictions or those demolitions in which the government will pay you back," another wrote.

The posts claiming the word "demolition" feature on the runway look at Paris Fashion Week were shared by accounts that typically share pro-Hong Kong democracy and pro-Taiwan content. 

The traditional Chinese used in the posts is more common in Hong Kong and Taiwan than in mainland China, where simplified Chinese is more widely used. 

Manipulated image

Some social media users appeared to believe the image was genuine.

"The local people shouldn't mislead the designer. They didn't explain it thoroughly," one commented. 

"Another case of a foreigner being fooled," another wrote. 

However, a reverse image search on Google found the original photo was published here by Vogue on September 13, 2014 in an article about London-based label KTZ.

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A screenshot, taken on December 1, 2021, of the Vogue Magazine photo.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the doctored photo (L) and the photo published by Vogue (R): 

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None of the looks in the KTZ collection contained Chinese characters. The series was inspired by ancient Greece and neoclassicism, according to the Vogue report. 

Reports from Fashion Magazines Nowfashion and Women's Wear Daily show that the photos were taken at London Fashion Week in 2015, not Paris Fashion Week as claimed in the misleading posts.

The name "Bvien" given to the designer in the posts did not feature in keyword search results on Google and the London Fashion Week list.

KTZ is under the creative direction of Marjan Pejoski and the management of Sasko Bezovski, according to its website.

The label did not respond to AFP's request for comment.