Sparking immense controversy is Zara’s latest campaign and photoshoot called “Jacket” which saw statues missing limbs standing among rubble as well as cardboard cutouts that resemble the map of Palestine. The globe noticed how the campaign mirrors the destruction present in Gaza. The shoot even includes photos of model Kristen McMenamy posing with mannequins swathed in white cloth and plastic, analogous to Palestinian martyrs swathed in white shrouds.
Looking at the campaign from a general standpoint, it is part of Zara’s atelier series which is a limited edition collection of the fashion house and Baron & Baron, a design and advertising agency were behind its art direction. Yet, beyond that, it’s an offensive campaign whose use of controversial imagery has sparked public outrage and as a result, Zara is currently grappling with a public relations crisis.
Defending the brand, Zara said that “The central focus of its campaign, titled ‘The Jacket,’ is an exercise in concentrated design that aims to demonstrate the versatility of the garment” yet the haunting resemblance between the mannequins in white and the Gazan martyrs draped in white shrouds puts into focus Zara’s cruelty in making such a horrifying campaign.
The entire controversy does not come as a surprise especially knowing that Zara’s head designer Vanessa Perliman openly holds an Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian stance and even shared her views online back in 2021. She shared statements like “The people in my industry know the truth about Israel and Palestine and I will NEVER stop defending Israel.” Back then, many boycotted the brand, spreading the hashtags #BoycottZara and #ZaraMustApologise.
Today, the boycott continues as all over social media, users have been attacking Zara with an onslaught of comments including one making reference to Perliman, “I’ve BEEN boycotting Zara since the disgusting comments she made in 2021. I won’t support a brand that dehumanizes and demonizes Palestinians the way she publicly had.” X users have also been posting all over the platform: “No humanity left in these scumbags. #BoycottZara.” Once again, the brand is receiving the same backlash with many once again spreading the same hashtags in hopes to cancel Zara.
