An unflattering photo of 72-year-old fashion designer Vera Wang has gone on Chinese social media after being compared to her own allegedly photoshopped birthday snaps.

When the American designer celebrated her birthday at the end of June, she was complimented for her youthful appearance by netizens after posting images of her wearing a fetching yellow dress.

However, DKNY founder Donna Karan shared an image of her posing with Wang on the same night that showed the fashion designer in a different light and got tongues wagging.

In the photo, which apparently did no favours for either fashion designer, Wang seems noticeably more wrinkled than in her previously posted birthday snaps.

Karan posted the image with the message: “What a magical night celebrating Vera’s Birthday and having #CalvinKlein back in the city! Brought back so many memories of our times together.

“Happy happy bday Vera. Love you so so much xo DK.”

According to reports, comparisons between the different sets of photos went viral on multiple Chinese social media platforms, including Douyin/TikTok and Weibo.

One cheeky netizen said: “I reckon she won’t invite you to her birthday parties anymore.”

Some social media users even accused Karan of posting the photo deliberately.

While Wang did not comment on the photo, netizens pointed out that she had untagged herself from the photo and that it did not show up in her tagged posts on her Instagram page.