Miu Miu Defends Controversial Ad

Photo: WENN

Fashion label Miu Miu has come under hot fire by a watchdog unit for apparently releasing an ad that suggests the sexualization of an underaged child.

The Italian brand features 22-year-old British model, Mia Goth, yes, Shia LeBeouf’s girlfriend, reclining on a bed covered with crisp white sheets. According to The Independent, Goth wears “a sophisticated outfit, without a low neck-line, and nude makeup” in a photo that appears to be shot through an ajar door.

While the Advertising Standards Authority believed that the elements that contributed to the ad “left the impression that she was younger than 16 years of age,” Prada, the owner of the diffusion line Miu Miu, denied showing Mia Goth in any overtly sexualized way. “There weren’t any suggestive poses or any of a sexual tone in [Miu Miu’s] spring/summer 2015 campaign,” the company said.

The “cinematic tableaux” was shot by photographer Steven Meisel, and also features Imogen Poot and Marine Vacth in similar poses. Despite the company’s defenses, Prada and Miu Miu were banned by the ASA from using the image, saying it was “irresponsible and offensive” because they appeared to “sexualize” a girl who looked underage. “She was posed reclining on a bed, looking up directly to the camera through a partially opened door, which gave her an air of vulnerability and the image a voyeuristic feel,” the ASA added. “The ad was irresponsible and was likely to cause serious offense.”

The Miu Miu ad appeared on the pages of Vogue UK, which also defended the ad and says that they haven’t received any complains from parents or readers.

Goth, who has been featured on numerous campaigns and publications around the globe, was recently on Vogue Italia‘s March 2015 issue.

The Advertising Standards Authority has done this sort of thing before when it came down to the “sexualization of children.” Earlier this year, the ASA banned American Apparel’s ad featuring a young-looking model in a thong bodysuit.

On the upside of things, there is the Miu Miu spring/summer 2015 commercial on the next page!

[via The Independent]

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