By Alex Crean, reporter

The backlash against fashion house Dolce & Gabbana is growing in China following a controversial ad.

With many e-commerce sites removing the brand’s products from their stores.

Founders Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce have since released a video in which they offer their ‘sincerest apologies’ to Chinese people and apologise for ‘misunderstanding Chinese culture’ in an attempt to restore their brand image in China.

Kent Current showed the video to fashion blogger Winnie Tang, “It was basically mocking how the Chinese where eating Western Foods with chopsticks.

“Stefano [Gabbana] wouldn’t like it if they made fun of him for eating a stir fry with a fork, so it’s not ok to do the same”.

China is one of the most important markets for Dolce and a dent to its Chinese sales would impact the business.

The ad, uploaded to Instagram, sparked a race row after users on Chinese social media claimed the ad portrayed Chinese people as unsophisticated.

In the ad, a woman was shown attempting to eat Italian food with chopsticks.

The row started on Wednesday after models boycotted a catwalk show by the brand in Shanghai. The show was later canceled by city authorities.

In addition to this, screenshots on social media purport to show one of the brand’s founders, Mr. Gabbana, allegedly using racist language.

In response to this, some videos on Chinese social network Sina Weibo have shown consumers going through their wardrobes, shredding thousands of pounds worth of the brand’s goods in protest.

Mr. Gabbana denies sending abusive messages on social media.

Dolce & Gabbana couldn’t be reached for comment.