Zara Faces Backlash Over Collection Resembling Gaza Conflict Imagery

Zara is at the center of a controversy. Its new "The Jacket" collection is not to the liking of Internet users. And for good reason, it is visibly inspired by the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the toll of which continues to rise. The photos of the new collection show models wrapped in shrouds or wrapped in plastic and statues deprived of limbs. Enough to arouse indignation on social networks. Many Internet users did not hesitate to call for a boycott of the brand. "Using death and destruction as a backdrop for fashion is more than sinister, its complicity [...] should outrage us as consumers. Boycott Zara," wrote Palestinian artist Hazem Harb on his Instagram account.

"Our suffering is not your aesthetics. Our dying children are not your inspiration. Have a little shame. A little humanity," wrote an Internet user. "Living with the most disgusting people," wrote another Internet user, before sharing the hashtag #boycott-Zara. On X (formerly Twitter), an Internet user deplores: "They announced their new collection using the genocide in Gaza. And they literally use Uyghur Muslims as forced labor in the production of their merchandise."

In 2021, Zara had already found itself at the center of a controversy after its artistic director had displayed her position on Gaza in posts published on social networks. "Maybe if your people were educated, they wouldn’t blow up the hospitals and schools that Israel helped finance in Gaza," Vanessa Perilman had replied to Palestinian model Qaher Harhash on Instagram.