Harry Styles and Gucci Slammed for Ad Appearing to Show Pop Star Posing With a Toddler’s Mattress
Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Popstar Harry Styles and fashion label Gucci are in hot water over a new campaign that appears to feature the singer posing next to a child size mattress.
The pictures, which were posted to Gucci’s official Twitter account on December 12th have quickly caused concern.
“A performance piece starring #HarryStyles and the #GucciHAHAHA collection,” they wrote.
The images, were a part of a larger photo shoot, but these specific photos featured Styles wearing a t-shirt with a pink teddy bear, while posing in front of and carrying what appears to be a small mattress.
According to the New York Post, Gucci’s website said, “The House presents the Gucci HA HA HA campaign featuring British singer-songwriter and actor, Harry Styles. Arising from the friendship between him and Creative Director Alessandro Michele, play is at the very heart of the collection, which uses menswear as a tool of the avant-garde.”
Most notably among the backlash, the heiress of the Gucci family turned child rights activist spoke out against the ad. Alexandra Gucci Zarini, wrote on Instagram, “@gucci Why would you create a ‘performance piece’ with a toddler’s mattress and an adult man? My concerns are that there seems to be a common ideology across Kering’s Fashion Houses.”
Kering Fashion house is the corporation behind both Balenciaga and Gucci.
“Gucci was created to be the most elegant brand with the highest quality product. The direction it seems to be taking now is concerning. The protection of children should always come first and not be laughed at,” Gucci Zarini wrote on Twitter.
This controversy comes weeks after fashion label Balenciaga caught backlash for featuring a campaign with children holding teddy bears that were decked out in BDSM gear as part of their Spring 2023 collection. The photos sparked wide criticism, with some customers opting to boycott the brand and throw away expensive items they had purchased from the company.
In response to the backlash, the company promptly removed the ads from their social media pages and issued an apology to those it may have offended.
“We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms,” the statement read.
Neither Styles nor Gucci has addressed the criticism of the pictures.
