A Kazakh news outlet was forced to remove photos of models in H&M clothes portraying victims of brutal crimes. The pictures caused vast outcry in the country where violence against women has become a pressing issue.

One photo featured a girl lying on the bathroom floor with a bloodied knife beside her, while in another a female victim was shown with the zipper on her pants unfastened, suggesting that she might have been raped. Photographers from the Buro 24/7 Kazakhstan website also tackled the themes of murder by gun and suffocation.

The authors of the photoshoot explained their bizarre creative decision by saying that the H&M collection they were promoting was inspired by the 1970s, featuring turtlenecks, flared pants and pleated skirts in typical warm colors. They apparently only remembered this period as “the heyday of serial crimes in the US… Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, Edmund Kemper, Jerry Brudos became a sort of celebrities back then. Nowadays, films and TV shows with star actors are made about them.”

[link to www.rt.com (secure)]

What the fuck is wrong with the person who thought this was a great idea?