Zara issues statement after advert sparks outrage

Zara has issued a statement today after an advert caused outrage on social media. The fashion giant came under fire after an advertising campaign - called 'The Jacket' - showed models in a variety of poses that caused some people to draw comparisons to the horrendous images of body bags in the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.

One image showed a model posing with a mannequin wrapped in bubble wrap. Another showed a model standing in a wooden box surrounded by bits of debris, which some compared to pictures of those trapped between rubble in the current war zone.

Today, Zara said it regretted the 'misunderstanding' but that the campaign was 'conceived in July and photographed in September'.

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It said the campaign presented "a series of images of unfinished sculptures in a sculptor's studio and was created with the sole purpose of showcasing craftmade garments in an artistic context".

"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," a spokesman said, the BBC reports.

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

The statement today came after a number of people had hit out at the images. The Mirror reports Hazem Harb, an artist and pro-Palestine activist, have called for a 'boycott' in an Instagram post: "There is a sinister depravity in the commercial mind that produced this ad, while we are living a real time genocide. Using death and destruction as a