A British fashion label has had an advert banned by watchdogs for ‘glamourising smoking’.
Jaded London, which counts Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Kylie Jenner among its fans, ran a campaign earlier this year that depicted a woman in a pink backless minidress posing in front of a Vespa-style scooter.
It was used in an email marketing campaign sent to fans at the end of May promoting its Lola range of summerwear.
However, a member of the public complained about the advert because the model was also holding what appeared to be a lit cigarette between her fingers in the image.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) investigated and ruled that the advert had breached its rules on promotional material and cannot run again in its current form.
Investigators said the glossy image of the ‘fashionable and attractive’ model made smoking ‘appealing’ and ‘irresponsibly glamorised’, while the advert as a whole depicted ‘an aspirational holiday lifestyle’.
The cigarette appeared to be lit, with ‘visible ash at the tip’ even though it was not giving off smoke.
But Jaded argued that it was ‘not clear’ that the model was even holding a cigarette at all because it was slim.
Fashion brand Jaded London has been told not to run ads depicting smoking again – after an email campaign featured this image of a model with a cigarette
Jaded London found success early after global megastar Taylor Swift wore its sequinned bomber jacket on the 1989 World Tour in 2015 (pictured)
A video from the same campaign shared online also appeared to show the model taking a draw from the cigarette (circled) – though this was not investigated by the ASA
It claimed the lithe ciggie ‘appeared to be slimmer’ than a normal one and could have been mistaken for something else.
The firm also told the ASA that the cigarette also did not appear to be lit, as no smoke was seen coming from it or the model’s mouth.
‘They did not believe that the cigarette was the focus of the ad because it was less prominent than other elements of the image, such as the model’s clothing and accessories,’ the ASA said.
However, the Daily Mail has reviewed other forms of the advert in which the model appears to take a drag, and one in which she appears to hold it between her lips.
One video, shared on Jaded London’s Instagram, showed her holding it to her lips as she walks towards the scooter before climbing on, clutching it between her fingers.
Other Instagram posts showed models in swimwear and sunglasses holding what appeared to be lit cigarettes in their hands and between their lips.
One video showed a model lighting a cigarette before appearing to take a drag as she knelt on the floor. One commenter noted: ‘Seriously, in 2026, promoting smoking.’
A spokesman for the ASA confirmed that the video and other social media ads had not been investigated, but said it had ‘made clear’ to Jaded that ‘future ads are socially responsible and don’t glamorise smoking’.
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The fashion firm was ruled to have fallen foul of the ASA’s rules requiring adverts to show ‘a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society’.
It told the standards body that it now ‘understood why it was best to avoid images of models holding cigarettes’ and has since promised not to use smoking to promote its clothes.
The ASA said: ‘By associating this image with smoking, we considered that the ad had the effect of portraying smoking as appealing and therefore irresponsibly glamorised it.
‘While we welcomed Jaded London’s assurance that they would not use smoking content in future, we concluded that the ad was irresponsible and breached the [advertising standards] code.’
Jaded London was contacted for comment.
The ASA has previously cracked down on fashion ads that it has deemed to be in breach of the rules.
In 2022, Boohoo was told to stop using images of a woman wearing a t-shirt over a bikini after the watchdog deemed them ‘sexually suggestive’.
The image of the model, who was kneeling with her legs apart facing away from the camera in a pair of bikini bottoms, ‘objectified women’, the ASA ruled.
The firm has used other images of models smoking on social media (pictured) – but has since vowed to stop using cigarettes in its ads
Jaded London was founded by siblings Jade Camber and Grant Goulden, building on their parents’ know-how from working in the high street clothing industry
In 2022, the ASA told Boohoo to stop using this image of a model in a t-shirt and bikini bottoms because it was ‘sexually suggestive’
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The firm was founded in 2013 by siblings Jade Camber and Jade Goulden, who quit their day jobs and went into business using their parents’ know-how from working for manufacturers of clothes for high street retailers.
They spread word of mouth using social media and by sending clothes to celebrities including Beyoncé, Rita Ora, Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber.
Built on a £2,000 loan from their father, Jaded turned over £1million by 2016 and last year reported pre-tax profits of £6.39million on £50million of sales.
A turning point came for the Gouldens after Jaded’s sequin bomber jacket found a fan in megastar Taylor Swift, who wore it as she performed at British Summer Time in London’s Hyde Park in June 2015 on her 1989 World Tour.
She had swiped the jacket from friend Ellie Goulding, and became so enamoured with it that it became part of her signature look on the tour, with Jaded sending out regular replacements.
Used examples of the jacket sell for hundreds of pounds online.