Zadig & Voltaire Accused of Plagiarizing Fashion Week Ad Artists – ARTnews.com

Popular fashion brand Zadig & Voltaire has come under fire over a promotional video featuring a flaming fountain after social media users said it closely resembled the work of artist Julian Charrière.

The video was first posted to Z&V’s Instagram at January 19th to promote the Women’s Fall-Winter 2023 event for Paris Fashion Week. In the video, three rings of a fountain flash with orange flames consuming the background. The fountain was featured in two more promotional videos posted to the account, on Friday.

Users were quick to compare the video to 2019 masterpieces And Beneath It All Flows Liquid Fire by Julian Charrière, a French-Swiss artist represented by Sean Kelly Gallery. Charrière, a participant at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017, made a color loop film of a two-ringed fountain consumed in slow-motion flames against a black background. The work has been shown in France, Switzerland and New York, among other locations, and was featured at the recent Art Basel Miami Beach.

In Charrière’s artwork and in a video posted by Zadig & Voltaire, the sound of crackling fire is heard.

“I have never been contacted by this brand and must state clearly that I did not give any permission,” Charrière said in a statement on Instagram. “I only discovered this campaign a few days ago, when people contacted me and started tagging me.”

“As of now there is no resolution regarding this issue and it seems the company started deleting every comment mentioning my name below their posts and scrolls,” he continued, and shared a video of the original artwork. Her post currently has over 2,000 likes and has been shared by prominent art professionals such as artist Olafur Eliasson.

A representative for the Sean Kelly Gallery tells ARTnews that “Julian Charrière did not participate in or give permission for his work to be used in this way.”

Zadig & Voltaire has not yet responded ARTnewsrequest for comment.

The brand’s runway show was held Friday night at Poush, a trendy exhibition space and studio in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers dedicated to emerging artists.