Fashion faux pas: Why Zara has pulled its ‘perfect snack’ T-shirt off shelves

Parents have started disliking strawberries.

All thanks to Zara for its “vile” white t-shirt for young girls, which mothers on TikTok have called it sexually “suggestive.”

The Spanish retail clothing chain has issued an apology and pulled out the t-shirt from their stores.

Here’s what happened.

The controversial T-shirt

The white crew-neck T-shirt in question reads “the perfect snack” and “the strawberry: a small burst of sweet joy.”

A strawberry with two halves—one from the inside and one from the outside—and the words “take a bite” and “a burst of sweet delight, making it the perfect summer snack” are written on the back.

According to Laura Wilson, a London-based mother of two, the piece of clothing was found in the girl’s department of the brand’s Kentish Bluewater Shopping Centre store.

Wilson’s displeasure with the fruity was probably influenced by the way that Gen Z interprets the word “snack,” which is slang for someone who is sexually attractive.

“I am not one to be overly sensitive about clothing, and this was in the girl’s section. Just wait till you see what’s on the back. If you have bought this for your child, you need serious words with yourself, in my opinion,” the 32-year-old said in a clip.

“I’m so shocked. ‘Take a bit’, is it just me? Or is this not OK? I would never have my girls in this T-shirt,” she added.

She admitted that at first, she felt like she was being too protective. On TikTok, though, many people agreed with her and referred to the clothing as “vile.”

She told the Dailymail, “It’s very suggestive. This t-shirt was for a six to seven-year-old and I don’t think this is okay. Where it says, ’the perfect snack’, this is very suggestive. You say, ’that’s a snack’ and that is quite suggestive of an attraction. That’s how I took it anyway.”

Zara’s response

Zara issued an apology and removed the t-shirt from their store and website.

A Zara spokesperson told New York Post in a statement, “There was no intention for the use of the word ‘snack’ on this T-shirt to imply anything other than the traditional meaning of the word, as evidenced by the image of a strawberry on the garment.

“However, we now understand that some individuals have interpreted the term differently.”

“Therefore, we have removed the t-shirt from stores and our website and we apologise for any misunderstanding or offence caused.”

Responding to Zara’s move, Wilson told the outlet, “So they should!!! it is unnecessary language for a kids T-shirt!”

She continued, “I didn’t reach out to Zara as I thought for a second I might be overthinking it and being an overprotective person, and maybe I’m too overprotective, but I’ve seen things online on T-shirts before and not seen the problem.”

Past controversies

Zara is not new to controversies.

In December last year, Zara was in the news for its controversial advertising campaign after pro-Palestine activists called for a boycott of the retailer.

Mannequins with missing limbs and statues covered in a white shroud were the highlights of the advertising campaign, according to Al Jazeera.

Several activists claimed that the pictures had similarities to those taken during Israel’s invasion of Gaza, which has resulted in hundreds of Palestinian deaths and injuries.

The fashion firm apologised for the “misunderstanding” and ended the advertising campaign. Customers, according to Zara, saw “something far from what was intended when they were created.”

Zara owner Inditex responded that the images were taken in September, before the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and that the update was a standard procedure for updating material.

In 2014, the luxury brand was embroiled in controversy when it released a t-shirt with the slogan “White is the New Black.”

Some customers were offended by the graphic tee’s racist overtones, even though it was most likely a reference to the well-known Netflix series Orange is the New Black or a recent fashion trend.

The company debuted a unisex range named “Ungendered” two years later. It featured basic fundamental pieces of clothes and comfy loungewear.

But as many criticised it as a sloppy ad to sell basic apparel, its “huge step forward for non-binary acceptance” came under fire.

Similar instances by other brands

The high-end fashion brand Balenciaga issued an apology in November 2022 for advertisements in which kids were seen holding teddy bears while wearing bondage gear, and for using legal records on child sexual assault as props in other ads, according to NDTV.

Over the now-withdrawn campaigns, the brand acknowledged “a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility.”

This led to intense internet criticism and a $25 million (£21 million) lawsuit against the team behind one of the campaigns.

With inputs from agencies