Following an outrage against Zara’s ad showing mannequins wrapped in a white plastic bag with missing limbs, the Spanish multinational retail clothing chain has said there is a misunderstanding in the way the campaign has been perceived.
The fashion brand stopped the campaign, saying customers saw “something far from what was intended when they were created.”
It has emerged that the creative campaign was shot earlier, but the sentiment is that it smacks of insensitivity.
The ad bore a chilling resemblance to the war-torn situation in Gaza. Over 17,000 Palestinians, most of them children, have been killed in hundreds of Israeli aerial attacks since October 8.
The campaign, ‘The Jackets’, featuring Kristen McMenamy, promoted six new jackets. But splintered stones, damaged statues and ruined plasterboard caught the users’ attention, The Outlook reported.
It’s thought that the dust on the plywood boards was similar to the map of Palestine.
Social media started the BoycottZara movement. The ad attracted more than 1,00,000 comments—and nasty ones at that—with pictures of the Palestine flag appearing on Zara’s Instagram posts.
Zara’s apology note, published by The Outlook, read: “After listening to comments regarding the latest Zara Atelier campaign “The Jacket”, we would like to share the following with our customers: The campaign, which was conceived in July and photographed in September, presents a series of images of unfinished sculptures in a sculptor’s studio and was created with the sole purpose of showcasing craft-made garments in an artistic context.
“Unfortunately, some customers felt offended by these images, which have now been removed, and saw in them something far from what was intended when they were created. Zara regrets that misunderstanding and we reaffirm our deep respect towards everyone.”
The article alluded to an earlier message from Zara’s head designer, Vanessa Perilman,
Two years ago,Perilaman told Palestinian model Qaher Harhash, “Maybe if your people were educated, then they wouldn’t blow up hospitals and schools that Israel helped to pay for in Gaza. Israelis don’t teach children to hate nor throw stones at soldiers as your people do.”
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