Less than a week after the triumphant success of H&M’s collaboration with Balmain, the Swedish retailer has found itself embroiled in controversy following some tweets posted from the South African store’s Twitter account. After user Tlalane Letlhaku visited a store and criticised the retailer for the lack of diversity in the posters displayed, she was told that its marketing is supposed to be “inspiring”, and that it’s essential for them to “convey a positive image” – the implication being that it’s white models that embody the positivity the brand seeks to present. 

In a country riddled by a very recent history of white supremacy and apartheid, this comment was – unsurprisingly – met with fierce criticism on social media. Although that specific tweet has now been removed, the ones that followed it have not. H&M South Africa went on to say that they “work with a wide range of models and personalities” before tweeting out a list of models of colour that it has previously employed which (rather bizarrely) included Kendall Jenner, alongside Naomi Campbell and Alek Wek.

What many found offensive – regardless of how it was intended – is the association of white people with “a positive image”, demonstrating that harmful racial stereotypes are pervasive in advertising.

H&M has now issued a formal apology stating that “In no way does H&M state that positivity is linked to an ethnic group” and that it “embraces all people who are inspired by fashion, regardless of ethnic background, gender or culture.”