Zara’s new denim ads about “loving your curves” have some people pretty upset
All bodies are beautiful, no matter what. But since the fashion and beauty industries have long celebrated just one kind of body shape (we all know which one), many brands are finally getting real about body image and starting to feature all kinds of models and make clothes that can fit them. Which is why Zara’s new curvy denim ads are getting some backlash.
The ad, which is meant to show off the retailer’s new line of “body curve” jeans features two models who (while gorgeous!) are not exactly representative of a “curvy” woman, many will argue.
Just like curves are spectacular, there’s also nothing wrong with these two particular models who don’t havecurves. But the ad which read, “Love Your Curves,” struck many customers as sort of ironic. HelloGiggles request for comment from Zara was not immediately returned.
An Irish radio broadcaster, Muireann O’Connell, took a picture of the ad and tweeted it out with the caption, “You’ve got to be sh—ing me, Zara.” It was immediately retweeted around 13,000 times with people adding there own commentary about the disparity between the message and the image. O’Connell added in another tweet that it’s not the models’ fault.
"How didn’t anyone on their marketing team go… ‘Lads, lads, how about we don’t piss people off?'
It’s also not just the messaging either. Both of the models’ bodies seem distorted in the image. false
Although some people are post angry message to the retailer, other women are adding a little humor to the whole debacle.
Dear @zara, we heard you are in desperate need of curvy models. May we offer our assistence? #loveyourcurves CC @MuireannO_C pic.twitter.com/p1RU7p5zCY
— Kita van Slooten (@kitavanslooten) March 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/836570167375196160
Of course there is *nothing* wrong with the figures of the girls in the Zara ad – but let's not sell this under a 'love your curves' banner
— Claire Allan #TheNurse 💉 (@ClaireAllan) February 28, 2017
All they had to do was give the models in the photo a different headline or invest in finding some models with actual curves, and everyone could have been a winner. Maybe the retailer was trying to make a statement about the fact that everyone has a little curve to them? The ad is for their line of “body curve” jeans, which only go up to a size 14 in U.S. sizes. So they aren’t even actually made for plus-size women and the images on their online store selling the jeans don’t make much an effort to include diverse body types.
The company probably should have been a little more careful with their words. But it’d be a whole lot more empowering if in the future they were also more careful to be more body inclusive and positive.
