Spanish fast clothing company Zara pulled an advertising campaign featuring mannequins with missing limbs and statues wrapped in white shrouds depicting corpses of those killed by Israel from the front page of its website and app on Monday amid wide backlash and calls from Palestinian activists to boycott the popular fashion retailer.
Earlier in the day, Zara featured images for its "Atelier" campaign on its website that look like they were inspired by the destruction of the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, in which over 18,000 people have been killed, most of them women and children.
Inditex, which owns Zara, said the change was part of its normal procedure of refreshing content. It did not comment on the boycott calls but claimed the "Atelier" collection was conceived in July and the photos were taken in September. The atrocities in Gaza began on Oct. 7.
The company's flagship brand is Zara, but it also owns several other brands including Massimo Dutti, Pull&Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius and Zara Home.
In one of the photos of the controversial campaign, a model is pictured carrying a mannequin wrapped in white, reminiscent of white shrouds used to cover the dead; in another, a bust lies on the floor and another features a mannequin with no limbs. Critics said they resembled photos of corpses in white shrouds in Gaza.
Zara's Instagram account saw tens of thousands of comments posted about the photos, many with Palestinian flags, while "#BoycottZara" was trending on messaging platform X, formerly Twitter.
"I was a long-time loyal customer of clothing and perfume. Not anymore. Very distasteful campaign. I can't align with a company that has no moral compass,” wrote user ms_diannac.
"So tone deaf. Or worse, deliberate in celebrating a genocide,” wrote another Instagram user.
Zara did not reply to a request to comment from Anadolu Agency (AA), but several other media outlets reported Monday that Zara claims to have conceived and shot the photoshoot before Oct. 7.
On social media, some of the campaign images remain, as shot in an artist’s studio. According to Zara, they celebrate the brand's "commitment to craftsmanship and passion for artistic expression.”
The photos, which featured on Zara's online store homepage on Monday morning, were no longer visible on the website or its app by 12:30 p.m. GMT, Reuters reported.
A link on the U.K. website to Zara Atelier led to a page showcasing last year's collection.
This is not the first time this fashion brand has been in hot water over the issue of Palestine.
Zara last year came under fire from some Palestinians and Israelis after the head of the retailer's local franchise in Israel hosted a campaign event for an ultranationalist politician.
