Facing massive calls for a boycott, Spanish fashion brand Zara has dropped a controversial advertising campaign featuring body bags after it flared online outrage over its resemblance to war-torn Gaza.
Addressing the controversy on Tuesday, Zara â which is owned by Spainâs Inditex, the worldâs biggest fashion retailer â denied the claims but removed the controversial images from its website.
âUnfortunately, 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,â said a Zara statement published online.
In one of the images, an anemic-looking model holds what appears to be a body wrapped in plastic over one shoulder, while in another the shrouded shape lies at her feet as she stands on a set featuring chunks of rubble, broken walls, and other signs of destruction.
The campaign sparked a furious backlash on social media where many said it was deliberately poking fun at the devastation in Gaza where Israel has waged a vast campaign since the October 7 Hamas attacks.
One message on X, formerly Twitter, superimposed a picture of a Gazan mother embracing the body of a child wrapped in a white shroud, with many users calling for a boycott of the brand.
In response, Zara said its advertising campaign âwas conceived in July and photographed in Septemberâ.
The idea, it said, was to present âa series of images of unfinished sculptures in a sculptorâs studio and was created with the sole purpose of showcasing craft-made garments in an artistic contextâ.
It expressed regret for the âmisunderstandingâ and reiterated its âdeep respect towards everyoneâ.
At the start of the Gaza war, Inditex said it was temporarily closing its 84 Zara shops in Israel until further notice.
The war began on October 7 when Hamas group stormed into southern Israel killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping some 240 others, according to an Israeli count.
Israel has hit back with a massive military assault on Gaza that its Hamas-run health ministry says has now killed more than 18,400 people, including thousands of women and children.
