Top 10 Most Controversial Banned Fashion Ads
These are the most controversial fashion ads of all time! Fashion houses like Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Suit Supply, Diesel, Alexander Wang, Sisley, Tom Ford, Oh Lola! Yves Saint Laurent and Calvin Klein have all published ads that have caused extreme controversy and have been under fire by media.
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#10: "Oh, Lola!" by Marc Jacobs
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Actress Dakota Fanning may have been seventeen years old when she shot this 2011 fragrance ad for Marc Jacobs, but the Advertising Standards Authority in the United Kingdom banned it because the image encouraged the sexualization of children. Fanning's youthful appearance has let her play younger than her actual age for years, so the critique doesn't seem totally unfounded. The perfume bottle is placed somewhat suggestively between her legs, which played into why the ban was instated. Fanning has said that she has full trust in the designer and questions why anyone would read something nefarious into the advert. #9: Gucci Spring 2003 by Mario Testino
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Tom Ford was appointed as creative director of Gucci in 1994. For the decade that he held the position, he managed to modernize the brand and bring them a much-needed edge. While this print ad may seem relatively tame by some standards, keep in mind that it was created for the 2003 campaign, so the world hadn’t already been inundated with the amount of shocking content we’ve seen today. Showing a model’s pubic hair (shaved into the shape of the Gucci logo, of course) was just too much for the early aughts audience.
#8: Yves Saint Laurent M7
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Well, we can’t say we’re surprised that this one was controversial (and ultimately pulled)! In 1971, an iconic black and white photo was taken of designer Yves Saint Laurent that became synonymous with his image. When releasing their then-new men’s fragrance “M7”, the brand decided to riff off the well-known image and recreate it using a model and similar lighting. While Saint Laurent was naked in the original photo, he was sitting in a tasteful pose that left something to the imagination. They took it a step further with this 2002 ad by showing full frontal male nudity.
#7: “Shameless” by Suitsupply
Sexualizing models has come to be expected in fashion advertising, but this brand took it a step further than most. You may not have heard of Dutch brand, Suitsupply, and their intention with this provocative print campaign back in 2010 may have been to get their name out there. They definitely got people’s attention with these images, but it may not have given them the promotional push they were looking for. The entire series was eventually banned from Facebook due to the nudity and suggestive content. Shameless, indeed.
#6: "Be Stupid" by Diesel
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This campaign combines your standard sexualization of women doing suggestive things with a message that tells readers to forget everything their mothers told them. Diesel’s “Be Stupid” campaign, which was launched in 2010, featured a series of images of people doing idiotic things like flashing a security camera, petting a panther and leaning out of a moving car to kiss someone in another moving car. Authorities in the United Kingdom banned two of these images because they didn’t want children to see them and get any ideas. Can’t say we blame them!
#5: “I __ in #mycalvins”: Calvin Klein Spring 2016
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It’s nothing new for there to be controversy around Calvin Klein’s advertising ventures, but this 2016 version took it a step too far. Among other questionable images, it featured an up-skirt style photo of a model wearing the brand’s underwear. Considering the fact that up-skirt photos have been a real-life problem in recent years, the brand was derided for supporting rape culture with this image. The model in the photo, Klara Kristin, has defended the shot, saying that people need to “love yourself and your sexuality”.
#4: Denim x Alexander Wang
Considering this is an ad for jeans, it seems a little bit gratuitous to show them around someone’s ankles rather than actually on their body. We all know how uncomfortable it is to go commando when wearing jeans, so this is also just plain unrealistic. Unlike many other designers featured on our list today, Alexander Wang isn’t known for his sexualized brand image, so these 2014 adverts are all the more surprising. If the nudity itself wasn’t enough to provoke attention, one of the pictures seems to show the model umm… pleasuring herself.
#3: Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2007
Putting models in sexually suggestive positions in one thing, but simulating sexual violence is a much more serious issue. Steven Klein shot this 2007 image, which has been used liberally when citing examples of rape culture in advertising. In the photo, a glamorously dressed woman is held down by a man gripping her wrists while three other men look on. The image quite obviously is meant to be a representation of a gang rape and we’re not exactly sure why Dolce & Gabbana thought this would help them sell clothes.
#2: “Farming” by Sisley
Sisley partnered with the infamous photographer Terry Richardson in 2001 for this series of ads. It includes an image featuring model Josie Maran (yes, that Josie Maran of argan oil fame) squirting milk into her mouth straight from a cow’s udder. We don’t think it’s necessary to break down exactly what this image resembles, but do note that the clothing does not seem to be the focus here. Model Vanessa Veasley’s nearly-nude shoot with the photog for streetwear apparel brand Supreme was similarly questioned for its provocative content in 2010.
#1: Tom Ford for Men 2007
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When designer Tom Ford released his first men’s fragrance, he didn’t hold back when it came to creating an eye-popping ad. Likely knowing he would get an outrageous result, he had Terry Richardson shoot the campaign - and it incited just as much controversy as you would expect. Not only were the two images criticized (unsurprisingly) for their sexual overtones, it was also said that the fact that the female model was faceless gave the ads elements of chauvinism, sexism and/or misogyny.
