Following intense backlash on social media, French fashion house Chanel has decided to recall its new designer body bag.
The body bag, priced at $2,000, is crafted in pink or brown alligator hide and features a chain of silver heart charms. Promotional material shows that it’s also leak-proof, with a 24-karat gold zipper and sequined embroidery that can be shaped into the deceased’s initials.
The bag was only displayed on Chanel’s website for a day before Twitter users decried it as insensitive, horrifying, and unnecessary.
“We’d like to sincerely apologize to anyone our new product may have offended,” said Chanel CEO Alain Wertheimer during a press conference. “But our philosophy is that if people lived in style, they should be able to die in style too.”
Wertheimer refuted claims that Chanel is profiting off death, explaining that the bag was designed to show respect to deceased people who were wealthy enough to afford it. Even so, the heart charms, gold zipper, and sequins have been labeled as flashy and ostentatious.
Capitalizing on this mistake, rival fashion house Prada has announced that it’s currently developing a more subtle coffin.