Mums and kids won’t be put off buying designer children’s clothes from Prada, following the banning of their latest advert.
The international fashion house recently had their latest advert, starring child actress Hailee Steinfeld, taken off the screens after showing ‘dangerous images.’
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) was inundated with complaints from angry parents who branded the advert showing the 14-year-old sitting on a railway track.
The ‘irresponsible’ advert for the labels MiuMiu range showed the actress sitting alone looking upset and crying.
This caused outrage because it was suggestive of youth suicide. The ASA rejected that the advert implied youth suicide but ruled that the image broke industry regulations because it showed a child in an unsafe location.
The young starlet, who was Oscar nominated for her role in the remake of western classic True Grit, is the face of Prada’s sister brand Miu Miu.
Prada Retail UK, responding on behalf of Miu Miu, defended the advertisement saying that it was part of a ‘serious, high-fashion campaign aimed at adult women’.
The company said that the campaign, which was shot by top filmmaker and photographer Bruce Weber, was meant to look like the set of an imaginary film.
Prada also said that it was clear that Hailee Steinfeld "could have easily moved from where she was sitting because she was not restrained in any way".
The advert was allegedly placed only in adult high fashion magazines such as Tatler.
The company also said that Miss Steinfeld was not crying and had not been told to do so, it was just her ‘wistful and thoughtful face’
The ASA said: ‘Because the ad showed Miss Steinfeld, who was 14 years of age only when the photo was shot, in a potentially hazardous situation sitting on a railway track, we concluded the ad was irresponsible and in breach of the Code in showing a child in a hazardous or dangerous situation.”
