faces of things

Dakota Fanning and Marc Jacobs Were in Stitches Over Banned Ad

Photo: Juergen Teller/Marc Jacobs

Fanning One, now age 18, has been a Marc Jacobs muse since 2006, when she dressed up like a mini–Margot Tenenbaum going to a flapper-themed soirée in the designer’s ads. Although we don’t recall much backlash from that campaign — she was 12 years old! It’s exploitation! Labor laws! Where are the parents? — last year, Jacobs used Fanning in his Lolita-inspired ads for his Oh, Lola! perfume, which was a bit too much for the Brits to handle. The U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority banned the image, explaining it could be construed to sexualize a child:

We noted that the model was holding up the perfume bottle which rested in her lap between her legs and we considered that its position was sexually provocative. We understood the model was 17 years old but we considered she looked under the age of 16. We considered that the length of her dress, her leg and position of the perfume bottle drew attention to her sexuality.

In Glamour’s March issue, Fanning One finally speaks about being censured. Asked if she was surprised by the ban, she said, “Yeah, I was! If you want to read something into a perfume bottle, then I guess you can. But it’s also like, Why are you making it about that, you creep? I love Marc and trust him, and we just laughed about it.” She also told the magazine that she and Fanning Two are enjoying their fashion moment: “It’s really fun when you’re getting dressed for something. It’s not when you’re in the rain with an umbrella and trying to carry a case of water. Yep, that’s me, alone, coming from Duane Reade. I’m not wearing a bra. Deal with it.” What a plug for Duane Reade!

Dakota Fanning Was in Stitches Over Banned Ad