14 DAY TRIAL // Whatever the concept behind the photo-shoot wanted to express, the controversial and incredibly racist photograph of Dasha Zhukova sitting on a chair resembling a black undressed female, sparked a gigantic online reaction from the public, offended by such an insensitive image.
Dasha, former model and current partner of one of Russia's most influential oligarchs Roman Abramovich, just started working on her own magazine called Garage and decided to promote the event in a rather bizarre way.
The woman posed for a fashion blog interview by sitting on a chair made from a life-like mannequin, barely clothed with a pair of leather boots, black panties, a belt and a pair of gloves made from the same material.
The dummy is pictured laying on her back on a rug on the floor, with a cushion balanced on her bottom and with her knees bent, serving as a chair for the former model, as shown in the photos posted by Daily Mail.
The unbelievable improvised chair gives the impression of an actual slave, being categorized by viewers as disgusting and degrading.
The 32-year-old Russian lady is captured perching on the mannequin chair while wearing a white shirt and blue jeans and staring at the camera. If just the outraging image wasn't enough, it was featured in an interview posted online on Martin Luther King Day.
With a flood of disgusted reviews and comments, the fashion blog releasing the interview, Buro 24/7, removed the photo and replaced it with a cropped image that only features Dasha and the boots of the mannequin.
The editor in charge of the article, Miroslava Duma, was accused of having no regards towards the racist issues the photo brought.
The Organization for Women's Liberation called the photograph “incredibly racist” and Fashion Bomb Daily stated that the image is an offending way of showing “white dominance and superiority, articulated in a seemingly serene yet overtly degrading way.”
Twitter was also flooded with outraged users posting their opinion on the matter, from people talking about Martin Luther King turning in his grave to other aggressive users threatening the publication for their racist display of white supremacy.
“I guess Garage Magazine thought that today would be a great day to advertise their racism,” user Ric Claire wrote.
Despite the firestorm unleashed on the Internet due to the offending photo, neither Dasha Zhukova nor the fashion blog Buro 24/7 has offered an official apology or at least justification for their actions.