File photo of shoppers walking past a Zara clothes store.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Fashion brand Zara said on Tuesday it regretted the "misunderstanding" over an advertising campaign featuring mannequins with missing limbs and statues wrapped in white that triggered calls for a boycott by some pro-Palestinian activists.
"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," Zara said in a post on its Instagram account.
That account had seen tens of thousands of comments posted about the photos, many with Palestinian flags, while "#BoycottZara" was trending on messaging platform X. Critics said the images resembled photos of corpses in white shrouds in Gaza.
"Zara regrets that misunderstanding and we reaffirm our deep respect towards everyone," Zara said. Six posts showcasing the campaign were scrubbed from Zara's Instagram page.
Zara said at the launch of the collection on December 7 that it was inspired by men's tailoring from past centuries. The photos appeared to show an artist studio with ladders, packing materials, wooden crates and cranes, and assistants wearing overalls.