The great-granddaughter of Gucci’s founder, who works as a child advocate against sexual abuse, was among the swathe of critics slamming the fashion house’s advertising campaign.
Harry Styles and Gucci are facing backlash for a recent ad campaign. Credit: @gucci/Instagram
A children’s mattress and a grown man: what story are they selling?
That’s the central question being asked about Gucci’s latest advertising campaign, which features singer Harry Styles.
Though images from the “HA HA HA” collection were released in early November, an Instagram post promoting the campaign attracted a new wave of publicity on Monday – much of it casting shade and questioning the fashion house’s direction.
“Why is it so difficult to stay away from kids?” one person asked on Instagram.
“Is this an ad for kids mattresses? If not… why is a kids mattress included with a man in a fashion ad… what are you trying to normalise?” another person asked.
“Stay away from our kids,” another critic wrote.
In statements released with the collection, Gucci called it a “performance piece” where “play is at the very heart”. A game of “dress-up” for Styles.
“Starting from those small oddities that come together in childlike visions, it turns into a ‘dream wardrobe’ reflecting the two creative spirits behind the collection,” Gucci said in a statement at the time of release.
But following the
firestorm caused by Balenciaga’s campaign in November,
people online have pressed for a Gucci boycott.
Gucci and Balenciaga are owned by the same parent company, Kering Group.
Gucci heiress and child advocate responds
Alexandra Gucci Zarini, the great-granddaughter of the fashion house’s founder, Guccio Gucci, was also among the critics slamming the Gucci campaign.
Ms Gucci Zarini, who works as a children’s rights advocate at the Alexandra Gucci Children’s foundation, called it “concerning”.
“Gucci was created to be the most elegant brand with the highest quality product. The direction it seems to be taking now is concerning,” she said in a tweet linking an article on the criticism.
“The protection of children should always come first and not be laughed at.”
On Instagram, she said: “My concerns are that there seems to be a common ideology across Kering’s fashion houses.”
In that widely-criticised campaign by Balenciaga, labelled by many as “disturbing,” ads featured children holding teddy bear handbags clad in leather straps and silver studs which a chorus of people called “bondage-like”.
Internet sleuths found another photo from a Balenciaga-Adidas advertising campaign included printed documents from a United States Supreme Court ruling on child pornography.
Another photo that drew disapproval featured a book by an artist whose works include images of castrated toddlers.
After a wide outcry, the French company was forced to issue an apology addressing the court document and teddy bear bags.
Not the first campaign to be shut down
Research published in the UK by The Bailey Review of the Commercialisation and Sexualisation of Childhood found that advertising featuring children is particularly prone to close scrutiny.
In 2010, The Sun newspaper reported that clothing store Primark was selling “paedo bikinis”, referencing a padded pink swimwear top designed for children.
Indignant British parents and child welfare authorities similarly called on consumers to boycott the company, with accusations that it was promoting pedophilia by making young girls attractive to men.
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The conversation escalated, and UK leader at the time David Cameron stepped in to slap down the “premature sexualisation and commercialisation” of children.
Following the public outcry, Primark’s representatives admitted their mistake, withdrew the clothing item, and donated the profit to children’s charities.
Another older example in 1999 from Calvin Klein, however, didn’t end quite the same.
After an ad featured a child model in the brand’s underwear, it was argued that a photograph focused on the child’s genitalia.
Within a day, the controversy saw the brand withdraw its campaign, but after the scandal, the sales of Calvin Klein children’s underwear rose considerably, according to a
published in Porn Studies on the sexualisation of children in the fashion industry.
