Why is Zara being boycotted? Palestine campaign controversy explained as brand pulls ad from website amid outrage

Popular Spanish fashion brand, Zara is facing the wrath of social media users after thousands reciprocated calls to boycott the fashion giant. The boycott calls are a reaction to the brand's latest campaign photoshoot that allegedly showcased imagery relating to the current Palestine-Israel conflict, including a mannequin that looked like it was covered in a traditional Muslim burial shroud.

The fashion brand's chief womenswear designer, Vanessa Perilman, faced criticism as well for offensive messages she wrote to a Palestinian model in 2021. Following the public outcry, the brand removed images of the photoshoot from its website and social media. It also issued a statement expressing regret at what it called a "misunderstanding".

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Zara's controversial ad campaign

The boycott Zara calls emerged as a reaction to the brand's new campaign, "ZARA ATELIER Collection 04_The Jacket" featuring American model Kristen McMenamy. The photoshoot for the campaign showcased the model posing inside of rubble and destruction while donning "The Jacket".

A mannequin used in the campaign that was shrouded in white cloth sparked controversy. In one of the shots, McMenamy could be seen carrying the mannequin. Netizens noticed that the mannequin looked eerily similar to traditional Islamic burial shrouds, which were being seen more and more on the internet due to the tragic deaths resulting from the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.

People also noticed that one of the plasterboard cutouts behind the model looked very similar to a map of Palestine. Both these factors prompted imminent outrage at the campaign. Hashtag boycottZara trended on X (formerly known as Twitter) as groups of people condemned the brand for either deliberately hurting sentiments or for releasing an ill-timed post.

In response to the backlash, the brand pulled the entire controversial ad campaign from its official website and social media handles. The brand also released a statement on December 12, stating that the campaign was conceived in July, and photographed in September.

According to the brand, the campaign simply showcased "a series of images of unfinished sculptures in a sculptor's studio" and was only created to show "craftmade garments in an artistic context". The brand further apologized:

"Unfortunately, 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."

The brand added:

"Zara regrets that misunderstanding and we reaffirm our deep respect towards everyone."

Judging by the comments on the apology post, the apology was not well received (Image via Instagram)

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Vanessa Perilman and her inflammatory comments

The backlash did not stop here, as many social media users did some more digging and found out that Zara's head women’s designer, Vanessa Perilman had come under fire back in 2021 for inflammatory anti-Palestine messages sent to a Palestinian male model named Qaher Harhash. After losing her cool at Harhash's pro-Palestine Instagram content, Perilman messaged him:

"Maybe if your people were educated, then they wouldn't blow up hospitals and schools that Israel helped to pay for in Gaza."

Here is her full message:

Once she started receiving backlash for her comments after Harhash shared them on his Instagram stories, Perilman called Harhash "weird" for sharing her occupational details. Later, Vanessa appeared to be apologetic as she stated that she felt "really bad" for saying such things. She revealed that her sentiments came from repeated insults to Jews that she had heard from her co-workers.

Perilman also revealed that she and her kids were facing death threats because of the stories before deactivating her socials. She had later reactivated her Instagram but deactivated it again following the new controversy. In response to the incident, Zara's parent company, Inditex, said in a statement to NBC News that it did not accept a "lack of respect" for any belief, culture, religion, race, or country. It said:

"Zara is a diverse company and we shall never tolerate discrimination of any kind."

The company further stated:

"We condemn these comments that do not reflect our core values of respect for one another, and we regret the offense that they have caused,"

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The fashion giant also faced major boycott calls back in 2022. Last year, the company came under fire when an Israeli Zara franchise owner hosted a campaign event for Itamar Ben-Gvir, the controversial ultra-right-wing Israeli politician. Ben Gvir, at the time, replied to the controversy on social media by saying: "Zara, cool clothes, cool Israelis".