Sex? Disturbing? Daring? Bold? Fun?
Engaging? Stylish? Disgusting?
Of course, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that a fashion label would purposely court controversy on social media in order to gain publicity. The Fashion World has been doing it for years in print and television ads. Frankly, it’s kind of surprising that it took someone this long to do it on Twitter—and also surprising that no one else has jumped on the bandwagon yet.
However, in case you don’t believe me, I’ll prove it to you with today’s list, which features 35 controversial fashion advertisements. Take a look at them, then try to tell me Kenneth Cole is somehow worse that the rest of the industry.
And of course this Suit Supply ad really pushes the boundaries.
Though, from an artistic point of view, I do kind of like the idea of
photographs of people doing pornographic things while fully dressed.
It’s a d**k in a bag.
Yeah, this one is pretty scandalous I guess. (That’s what I call multitasking.)
I was under the impression that the French had sort of lost their
religion, so I find it somewhat surprising that this parody of The Last
Supper was banned. It’s not even that bad, as far as sacrilegious things
go.
Remember when I said we’d be seeing some pretty controversial
T
Tom Ford
ads? Well, here we go. And even this one is tame compared to what’s
ahead.
Don’t worry, they’re not having intercourse. They’re just wrestling around in cologne. Naked. Like you do.
United Colors of Benetton Takes On The Pope, Sheikh AhmedThe gist: Perhaps most known for the use of controversial images
in their advertising, United Colors of Benetton revealed a montage of
images showing various world leaders locking lips, including Pope
Benedict XVI and the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. The company
later withdrew the ads after the Vatican expressed outrage over the
images.
What
on earth were they thinking when they created this "Fashion Junkie"
campaign ad? Honestly, the concept of fashion has deteriorated over
time. What are they trying to show with these two skinny girls, who are
almost anorexic, posing as though they were inhaling cocaine? And even
though you don\‘t need to see if it\‘s the real drug, that white shirt
clears this up in a second.
Jessica and Lisa Origliasso of the Veronicas appeared in an ad campaign for PETA in support of the organisation's anti-fur stance, with the pair saying they were motivated to do the shoot after watching videos of a Chinese fur farm. Jessica told press that the use of fur in the fashion industry is ignorant, unnecessary and unacceptable. "We don't want to be an ignorant generation, we want to inform people. We can be the generation that makes a difference."
Calvin Klein's racy ad depicting a nearly naked Lara Stone being
straddled and held by the hair was banned in Australia, with officials
stating they were concerned it sent the wrong messages about rape and
violence. The Advertising Standards Bureau ordered the controversial
billboard be removed after declaring it "demeaning to women" as it
appeared to suggest that Stone was a plaything of the men.
Italian clothing company Cambia Style came under fire after it used an
image of Hitler in its ad campaign to promote the message, "Change
style. Don't follow your leader." Locals reportedly found the
advertising campaign offensive and called for the billboards to be taken
down, with Palermo city councillor Rosario Filoramo telling press, "The
use of an image of a person responsible for the worst chapters of the
last century is offensive to our country's constitutional principles and
to the sensitivities of citizens."
This ad looks benign today but in 1980 the world was in an uproar over
15-year-old Brooke Shield's provocative pose and partially unbuttoned
shirt in a Calvin Klein TV ad. The ad's slogan, "Nothing comes between
me and my Calvins," was also considered inappropriate.
Benetton has created some of the most controversial ads in the fashion
world. This one depicting a blond angelic child and a black devilish
child was meant to promote harmony and understanding but critics said it
endorsed racial stereotypes.
No stranger to controversy, this brand just knows how to push their line of basics to seem appealing enough, or not. Most of their ads are provocative and always bordering on soft porn. American Apparel has come under heavy criticism especially from the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority which claimed their photos are “pornographic, exploitative of women and inappropriately sexualised young women.”
Nothing sells clothes like naked models, make that naked men. A&F is notorious for using topless men in many of their advertising campaigns and catalogues. Over in Singapore where its first outlet was just opened late last year, an eye-catching billboard of a topless man with jeans slung dangerously way down low was deemed too risqué and thus, had to be removed. This was before it was due to be opened.
Another brand that is synonymous with pushing sex in the forefront of fashion advertising. It can be said that this designer never turned down an opportunity to shock. His ads for menswear and perfume are often seen as provocative and contain overtly sexual tones. Yes, Tom Ford really does believe that sex sells with strategically placed perfume bottles and fully naked females running about.
There is something with designer brands wanting to glamourise sex and violence. D&G is one such brand that swing that way. As can be seen in a few of its past ads; male models surrounding a lone female model being pinned down by the wrist bring to mind of gang rape; in another, violence is glorified as a male model lie on the ground after being shot in the head as all the others stood guard.
The product being promoted is Yves Saint Laurent men's fragrance called M7, but the real star of the historic ad is French model Samuel de Cubber. The black-and-white image shows de Cubber, a former martial arts champion, lounging nude on a bare floor, with his genitals in full view.
Designers whose job it is to describe the artistry of photos are calling this one "minimalist," but, well, there are at least three aspects of de Cubber that are more appropriately designated "maximalist."
He has definitely gone too far. The blogs & have fans have spoken, and this new fragrance campaign featuring Marc Jacobs himself (naked), is a huge misstep. Who do you think you are, MJ...Tom Ford? I think not.
This American hot shot designer who was also the creative director of Louis Vuitton posed nude and covered his essentials just by an oversize perfume bottle in the ad campaign of his Men's fragrance brand "Bang" shot by Juergen Teller and in the other shot , the fragrance bottle is placed in such a way that it reflects a shadow depicting a man's private part. I guess , the first pic doesn't need any explanation of it's sexual innuendos.
Popularly known as UCB, their advertising campaigns are solely based on the concept of bringing the different races together especially the Blacks and the Whites and for this their ads always land in trouble as they go out of the way to do that. UCB here, tried to do different except of landing into controversy . Shown here are its ad campaigns in which nothing but a bunch of multi color condoms are featured and the fun part is that they don't retail condoms ! These ads were banned in UK !
GUCCI is an iconic Italian luxury label. During the reign of Tom Ford, GUCCI's face and fate both changed for better. The first ad is really simple but sometime simple things too can be dangerous and it simply invited the critics. It was banned in UK.
Another iconic Italian luxury label - Dolce & Gabbana. Dolce & Gabbana label is known for their sensual and sexual aesthetics . The first ad is quite old but it also made a lot of news on the grounds of homo-sexual innuendos. 
The ad is not far behind ! The campaign shows a nude man is lying on the ground as if he is having extreme pleasure in being watched closely by two other men and the third one is stripping or wearing his pants as if he was or going to involve in some kinda act with that nude guy. Now what conclusion anybody would draw from this ad ?? Dolce and Gabbana for Gay ?? I don't know ! Enlighten me please..It was banned in Italy.
This ad campaign where a girl is pinned down by a shirtless guy and few others watching them went in public in 2007 and soon it was banned in Italy as it was criticized for depicting a modified version of submissive "gang-rape" 
Shown below is the ad on a billboard where a girl is licking the guy's ass which created a lot of news and was criticized for being put in public like this.
In the year 2008, a video of Spring 2009 ad campaign (see the snapshot below) was pulled out from CK's website as it ran into the controversy for showing much of adult content. It was put back only after editing those explicit sex scenes.
CK has a history with such banned commercials but they really don't care !
Diesel like CK, never bothers and doesn't care about the vulgarity in their ads . Their last ad campaign of "Smart and Stupid " did make every head turn as it took a very different route by showing the world that it's better to be a stupid than being a smart. Their ads were as stupid and senseless as their tag !! Much of the editions of this ad campaign was banned at different places making Diesel look like a stupid !!
Look at the below ad and tell me who does that ??
Not even a stupid would do such a thing!! 
Sisley is a Benetton (UCB) group brand. Their advertising campaigns has always been very vulgar ,outrageous and suggested lot of obscenity and so most of their ads get axed. Here are a few ads of Sisley which were banned straightaway.
Shown below is the YSL ad campaign featuring a fully dressed up Kate Moss sitting with two nude men. The ad campaign was criticized for its sexual innuendo and was strongly protested by women and was banned in Canada.
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Calvin Klein Jeans
One of the most memorable and controversial ads in fashion history is the 1980 Calvin Klein Jeans campaign, featuring 15-year-old model Brooke Shields who uttered the famous line, “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins.” This suggestive ad was just one of many that helped catapult Klein’s career as a top fashion designer.
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Tom Ford for Men
Known as much for his provocative advertising campaigns as he is for his luxury clothing and fragrances, Tom Ford never turns down an opportunity to shock his viewers. Even though most of his ads are racy and overtly sexual, none drew more attention than his 2007 Tom Ford for Men fragrance ad that featured a bottle of cologne tucked in a female model’s nether regions.
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American Apparel
American Apparel is known for pushing the limits with racy images and suggestive ads that have received both criticism and praise. American Apparel puts out controversial ads virtually every season, but the one featuring model Lauren Phoenix in lust with her socks caused a great deal of ruckus. The suggestive ad shows a topless Phoenix wearing American Apparel tube socks and headshots of her enjoying them a little too much.
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Sisley
Parisian clothing brand Sisley has a history of using provocative ads that are sure to catch your attention and maybe even make you shield your eyes. One of the Sisley’s most controversial ads featured two dazed models pretending to snort a white stringy dress that looks a lot like something else certain models are fans of. The ad reads, “Fashion Junkie.”
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Jordache
Although Jordache has faded since its 1970s-1980s heyday, people will never forget the company’s controversial jeans ad of half-clothed models dressed in nothing but their jeans. The scandalous campaign helped set Jordache apart from their competitors, and it spawned several other controversial ads, including a television commercial starring a topless woman wearing tight Jordache jeans while riding a horse through the surf.
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Gucci
Gucci is not one to shy away from using risqué advertisements to sell their luxury clothing, accessories and fragrances, but one particular ad campaign managed to trump the others. Gucci took a fashion and publicity risk when it featured a model with her pubic hair shaved into the company’s capital letter “G” logo, along with a man crouched between her legs. Although the 2003 ad caused a great deal of ruckus, it was not banned from the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority.
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Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch has made a business out of selling sex with their semi-nude models and suggestive messages that are geared toward teen and young adult consumers. The Abercrombie & Fitch brand raised a lot of eyebrows and concerns when it started showing shirtless males with washboard abs who couldn’t seem to keep their pants on. These racy images became the face of Abercrombie & Fitch and the brand hasn’t stopped pushing the boundaries ever since.
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Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana have been known to push the envelope with their revealing ads that often send offensive messages to viewers. One of the most controversial campaigns in fashion history was Dolce & Gabbana’s 2007 ad that featured a half-naked man holding down a scantily clad woman while four male models passively look on. The image was criticized for glorifying sexual violence and degrading women. The designer duo’s ad was banned in Spain and in their native land of Italy.
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Diesel
Diesel has a reputation of pushing the boundaries with its controversial ads, but the clothing brand really outdid itself when it launched the “Be Stupid” campaign that encourages consumers to take risks by acting stupid. The degrading images of a woman taking a photograph down her bikini bottom while a lion approaches in the background and another exposing her breasts to a security camera offended and breached decency rules in some countries.
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Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent stepped on a lot of toes when it used the controversial image of a naked English model, Sophie Dahl, for the brand’s Opium fragrance. The scandalous ad that was turned into a UK billboard was removed because it was too sexually suggestive and was degrading to women. It received extra scrutiny for appearing on poster sites that could be viewed by children.
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