In what must surely qualify as the most tone-deaf protest of all time, Russian Putinistas have taken to social media to vent their fury – not at the war in Ukraine, but at Chanel, whose distinctive, much-sought-after quilted, gilt-chained booty has been brutally blitzkrieged by a number of Russian socialites and models, furious at the brand’s decision to close its stores in Russia, and to prohibit the “sale, supply, transfer or export, directly or indirectly, of luxury goods to any natural or legal person in Russia”. 

In other words, no sneaking into the Chanel boutique in Monte Carlo and Fedexing half a dozen 2.55 Chanel bags, the entry price for which is around £3,000, back to Moscow.

Being socialites, they have recorded their dirty protest on Instagram. Standing on the balcony of a villa, the Russian model Victoria Bonya filmed herself holding a Chanel handbag in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. 

“I have to say that Chanel does not respect its clients, so why do we have to respect Chanel?” she said, before cutting the handbag in half and tossing it away. “Bye, bye.”