Zara’s advertisements for its new collection have been removed from parts of its website and app after its social media posts faced a wave of criticism and calls for boycott, as the ads were accused of mocking the devastation caused by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, although the company claims the campaign was created months ago.
Key Facts
Calls to boycott the fast-fashion brand Zara erupted over the weekend after the company revealed its new collection “Atelier,” and it launched ads in recent days that some pro-Palestinian activists and social media users accused of mocking the people in Gaza.
The campaign promotes six new jackets, featuring models wearing the jackets amidst rubble, statues, and dolls missing limbs, wrapped in white plastic, which some critics say resemble the bodies of the dead in Gaza.
One Instagram post from Zara last Thursday received 45,000 likes and over 171,000 comments, most of which were from users denouncing the ads, sharing the Palestinian flag, and calling for a boycott of the brand.
Inditex, Zara’s parent company, confirmed to Forbes magazine that the campaign was created in July and that the photos were taken in September, before the current round of fighting between Israel and Hamas began in October.
Although Zara has removed campaign images from the front pages of its app and website, some posts still exist on social media sites like Instagram and X. Inditex confirmed to Forbes magazine that the removal of the images was part of its routine content update procedures.
Zara described the collection in a separate post as “an exercise in centralized design aimed at showcasing the best aspects of Zara’s creative and manufacturing capabilities.”
Main Background
This is not the first time Zara has faced criticism related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2021, women’s fashion designer Vanessa Beerman clashed with Palestinian model Qaher Harsh via a direct message sent on Instagram. Beerman told Harsh: “Maybe if your people were educated, they wouldn’t blow up the hospitals and schools that Israel helped pay for in Gaza,” adding “The Israelis do not teach children hate nor throw rocks at soldiers as your people do.” The message was a response to a pro-Palestinian post made by Harsh a month after an 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas that resulted in the deaths of over 200 people. Inditex stated that it “[condemns] these comments that do not reflect our core values of respect for one another, and we regret the offense caused,” in a statement to NBC News. Zara faced criticism last year after the head of the company’s Israeli branch hosted a campaign event for far-right politician Itamar Ben Gvir, according to a report by the Times of Israel. This led some Arab Israelis to burn Zara clothing and call for a boycott.
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