EasyJet Apologizes for 'Inappropriate' Fashion Shoot at Holocaust Memorial

by StyleList Staff (Subscribe to StyleList Staff's posts)
Posted Nov 26th 2009 at 12:16AM

EasyJet isn't flying high after an offensive fashion shoot in its in-flight magazine. Photo: John Macdougall, AFP/Getty Images

Controversial photo shoots are nothing new, but this latest instance, involving a fashion story photographed at a Berlin Holocaust Memorial, is downright offensive.

European airline EasyJet is apologizing following complaints about the eight-page fashion spread in its in-flight magazine, the Daily Mail reports.

According to the paper, the budget airline has pulled all copies of its November issue of "EasyJet Traveller," in which the distasteful pictorial appears.

Run by the Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Field of Stelae Memorial reportedly served as the backdrop for the shoot, which saw fashion models leaning against concrete slabs.

Outraged Jewish groups complained that EasyJet was "trivializing the genocidal massacre of Jews," reports the source.

The red-faced airline has offered an apology and is reportedly reviewing its relationship with publisher, INK.

"EasyJet profusely apologizes to anyone who may be offended by the inappropriate fashion photo shoot at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin featured in this month's issue of the in-flight magazine," an airline spokesman told the paper.

Also at issue is how the magazine secured permission for the shoot. According to the Foundation Memorial, only non-commercial, Holocaust-related shoots are permitted, the paper states. The organization is now reviewing the matter.

Do you think staging a fashion shoot at a Holocaust Memorial is offensive? Leave a comment!

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Filed under: News
Tags: airlines, controversial photo shoot, fashion controversy, magazines, photo shoots

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READER COMMENTS

(2)Add A Comment

kafka, 11-26-2009, 5:51PM

so why is 'fashion' not considered an appropriate medium to address social issues or the ghosts of them, current or past? who says that fashion must be a trivial, vain platform incapable of addressing the darkness that is such a vital part of human nature? isn't a fashion itself a very primal conflict between fascination of the flesh and the desire to hide it, hate it, cover it away? why is it such a horrific offense to take photographs at a location deemed by a specific group of individuals to be a physical representation of tragedy? how does technology transcend physicality? what about the auras and energies imprinted in a physical place, especially after destruction that will be there regardless of the uses humanity designates as proper for them? why can't the fashioned self or site be a platform for exploring anger and extremity? what is it here that confronts notions of perceived vulnerability, reality and possession? is it this destruction of notions that makes the critics so uncomfortable to begin with? or are they made to be uncomfortable because this forces them to confront their own ideas on death, beauty, morality, brutality? who is to judge a creative project's level of creative contribution and so-called good taste to begin with? why is contemporary europe still so haunted by its past?

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EP, 11-30-2009, 2:46PM

I agree with the idea that a fashion shoot can be social commentary, but I don't think this particular fashion shoot had any point other than clothes look good on a minimalist background. The male model (as shown on the Daily Mail article) really looks like a bored tourist who has vaguely heard of the Holocaust but isn't sure what actually happened, while the female model looks like a Audrey Hepburn look alike traipsing through an outdoor mall.

While it is nice that the design of the memorial complements high fashion, the photo shoot misses the point that this is supposed to be a place of reflection and mourning for a very tragic event no one wants to repeat. Since the shoot violates the policy of not having a commercial shoot at all, you can't blame the memorial people for being a bit perturbed.

I like fashion, but shoots like this are what give the industry a reputation for being shallow and self-centered. A more thoughtful shoot, one not centered on selling clothes, would have been much better for promoting fashion as a socially aware industry.

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