Inditex apologises to Diocese of Malaga for controversial Holy Week fashion video

Spanish fashion giant Inditex has apologised less than two days after a controversial video went viral on social media showing models seemingly filmed without permission in the Malaga Cathedral and San Pedro church.

Inditex apologised to the Diocese after it came out and criticised the video, although the clothing company distanced itself from direct responsibility of the production of the video which was signed off by the Zara branch of Liborio García in the city centre.

Once the video surfaced and raised eyebrows, SUR tried to contact someone responsible from the company - even in Liborio García's own establishment - although without success at first. Then, on Monday 8 April, a spokesperson for the company sent a brief statement to SUR saying they had contacted the Diocese of Malaga to reiterate the video in question does not correspond to "any official content" of Inditex. The video was made for what is known internally in the company as fashion week. It has been organised for about six years and its aim is none other than to train Zara employees in the new season's trends, encourage their creativity and strengthen ties through various team projects, such as the recording of a video and the writing of a script. The content is the exclusive responsibility of each shop's shop assistants, Inditex added.

Zara's parent company also said they had no knowledge of the production. "Inditex knew neither its content nor the circumstances of its recording before its unauthorised sharing on social media." The video - uploaded to the Instagram account, Chicos y Chicas Zara, a profile with more than 29,000 followers and which presents itself as a positive and humorous page for those of us who work in the Inditex group - was deleted on Sunday night, although the content had already been shared on multiple channels.

Inditex said the company had apologised to the Diocese of Malaga, and that respect "is an essential element of the group's culture".

But some unanswered questions remain such as whether they had permission to shoot the video. When asked about this question, Inditex referred to its statement, where they said they were not aware of its content or the circumstances of its recording.

According to sources - both official and unofficial - the shots that were filmed in the cathedral were recorded during the hours of tourist visits, although the day is unknown. Although there were several images, they are very short shots, so it is more than plausible they were produced in this way. "It may have been an oversight, a few seconds," sources said.

The case of the church of San Pedro is more complicated. As can be seen from the tweets and screenshots - as well as the testimony of several witnesses - the shots were filmed on the morning of Good Friday between 10-11am. These witnesses claimed the church had been "cordoned off" for filming, which is why the actress appears alone in the video despite it being one of the busiest days of the year.

There is also the matter of the Medinaceli's vestments. Sources from the brotherhood pointed out the images were taken a few days before Holy Week. It should be remembered that this is a non-grouped confraternity that has its processions before Palm Sunday. As they said, when they were preparing the thrones for their departure (in the area of La Roca), two girls introduced themselves as workers of Zara de Liborio García and asked them for the cross "for some photos about Holy Week". According to these same sources, at first they were told no because the thrones were only half-assembled, but they insisted, saying they would only take the photos in a park a few metres away. "They came back ten minutes later and returned everything to us in perfect condition," they added. In the video the park becomes, to the eye of the viewer, a replica of Mount Calvary.