A netizen in China has recently ridiculed his friend’s Gucci handbag showed off on Wechat, which features an image of the famous Walt Disney animated short film Three Little Pigs produced in 1933. This handbag is said to have been designed especially for Chinese consumers to celebrate the Lunar New Year 2019, the Year of the Pig, according to the Chinese zodiac.

And it looks like this:

While it does revive our childhood memories, it seems to have little to do with the traditional celebration of the lunar New Year, except that it features pigs.

Apart from this handbag, Gucci has actually released a capsule collection celebrating the Year of the Pig. The collection, made up of 19 pieces, includes men’s and women’s ready-to-wear items, shoes, handbags, luggage, small leather goods, trainers and accessories; all embellished with the Three Little Pig animations. An exclusive watch also captures the Three Little Pigs on its dial.

A Gucci ad showing a model wearing a T-shirt with the Three Little Pigs motif and holding a piglet

The Three Little Pigs line of products

Another design motif for the campaign is called Flying Pig, which features a pig with wings and appears on such products as a brooch, an oversized cotton tee, beanies, cardigans, and socks. While it looks creative and gives off an artistic feeling, it does not go very well with the Chinese New Year feeling either.  

The Chinese zodiac is closely related to the Chinese New Year celebration which, however, needs more than animal signs. A festive feel is also critical. It seems that Gucci's designers need to learn more about traditional Chinese culture in order to loosen local purses, rather than simply posting an American cartoon character onto goods and neglecting to combine this with festive colors, symbols and characters.

A traditional Chinese gold product featuring a golden pig

A traditional Chinese lunar New Year painting