Zara Store Closes After Jacket Campaign Uproar, Video Shows

Zara stores around the world are being targeted by protesters following a controversial ad campaign that some said was "Gaza-war inspired."

One shop in Glasgow, Scotland, was even forced to temporarily cease trading, while other stores saw protesters go inside carrying large items wrapped in white sheets, meant to resemble the images pouring out of the Palestinian territory of Gaza over the past two months.

The Spanish retailer was forced to scrap its latest campaign for its 2024 Atelier range, called The Jacket, amid a global outcry and calls for boycotts. Critics slammed the campaign as insensitive to the people of Gaza as some of the imagery appeared to be "war inspired," including model Kristen McMenamy carrying a mannequin wrapped in white fabric over her shoulder.

At least 18,600 civilians have been killed by Israeli forces and airstrikes in retaliation to Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, according to the Associated Press, which cited Gaza's health officials, and nearly 1.9 million people have been driven from their homes in Gaza amid the ground invasion. The original attack left about 1,200 people dead in Israel, with about 240 people taken as hostages, and about half of them remain in captivity, AP said.

A handful of pro-Palestinian protesters forced the closure of the Zara store on Glasgow's busy Buchanan Street on Wednesday. They had gathered outside the store with placards, Palestinian flags and megaphones.

They chanted "Zara, Zara shame on you," as seen in videos posted on social media.

The Glasgow store wasn't the only one targeted, with Zara shops in Tunisia, Canada and other countries also facing similar protests.

A crowd gathered outside a Zara store in Tunis waving Palestinian flags and some splashed red paint on the store windows.

In Montreal, Canada, the words "Free Gaza" were written on a Zara store window.

A group of protesters staged a sit-in at a Zara store in a German-speaking country in Europe, but Newsweek wasn't able to confirm the location. They walked into the store with duct tape over their mouths, and carrying replicas of the dead bodies wrapped in white that have become synonymous with the crisis in Gaza since October 7.

In Zara's controversial campaign, mannequins were wrapped in white fabric and models posed amid rubbish from freight boxes, which some said resembled war rubble and coffins.

The backlash against the campaign began on Saturday and Zara removed some of the images from its social media, but kept them on its website. It eventually pulled the campaign entirely and issued a statement on Tuesday.

It claimed the idea for the campaign was "conceived in July and photographed in September," before the October 7 war between Israel and Hamas began.

Zara said it was meant to represent unfinished sculptures in a 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," the company wrote.

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