H&M Pulls School Clothing Ad Following Accusations Of Underage Sexualisation

H&M, the prominent Swedish fashion retailer, withdrew a school clothing advertisement following complaints of its inappropriate portrayal of underage girls.

The advertising campaign launched in Australia featured two young girls in school uniform with the caption, “Make those heads turn in H&M’s Back to School fashion”.

The decision follows allegations on social media that the clothing brand has sexualised underage girls.

“The little girls’ parents generally prefer heads don’t ‘turn’ when others see their daughters walking to school, on a bus or in class,” Melinda Tankard Reist, an Australian writer known for campaigning against pornography, said in a post on X.

The backlash adds to the string of recent controversies surrounding fashion brands' advertising campaigns. Last month, Zara received criticism for a campaign with a model amid rubble and shrouded mannequins, seen as insensitive to war victims in Gaza by social media users.

Last year, the luxury fashion brand Balenciaga also issued an apology for showcasing advertisements that depicted children holding teddy bears clad in bondage-style clothing alongside a printout of a Supreme Court decision supporting laws against child pornography.