Zara advertising campaign accused of resemblance to photographs of destruction in the Gaza Strip
A new Zara advertising campaign featuring Kristen McMenamy has caused an online scandal. Users are calling for a boycott of the brand because of pictures that remind them of the events in the Gaza Strip.
The Jacket campaign is part of the Atelier series, which the brand describes as "a limited-edition collection that celebrates a commitment to craftsmanship and a passion for artistic expression." It was shot by fashion photographer Tim Walker and published on Zara's Instagram* on December 7th.
The photo shoot is a series of photographs in which the famous model Kristen McMenamy poses against the background of destroyed walls and debris of mannequins. Around her there is dust, drywall, stones and statues: some of them are missing limbs, while others are wrapped in white cloth. 6669[/img]
Under posts on the brand’s account, users left thousands of comments calling for a boycott. They call the new campaign insensitive and even deliberately provocative: some saw references to Palestine in a hole in the wall that supposedly resembles a geographical map of the state.
"You are sick! Boycott Zara forever. The most clueless ad I've ever seen," "As if people wouldn't notice the Palestine map," "You'd have to be heartless with real mental health issues to actually pull off a campaign like this. Thank you for showing your demonic values and black heart. Bravo," "This is disgusting. What kind of sick, twisted and sadistic images am I looking at? ", "We have all seen the shocking images of shrouded bodies from the Gaza Strip... This is clearly a deliberate mockery of the Palestinians. They know exactly what they are doing,” subscribers react.
The Zara brand did not respond to the backlash and did not remove the campaign photo with comments from its page, except for one photo in which Kristen, wearing a studded leather jacket, holds a mannequin wrapped in white fabric on her shoulder.
The Cut notes that the campaign was developed in the summer and filmed in September - before the events in Gaza, and, as stated, was not intentional. And the decorations should supposedly remind of the artist’s creativity and workshop.
The scale of the scandal can be compared with the famous “cancellation” of Balenciaga last year.
