'Cultural insult': Marie Claire apologises for photo shoot of Gemma Ward wearing fake Maori tattoo

A photo shoot in the Australian edition of Marie Claire magazine featuring Gemma Ward has been criticised by a New Zealand academic for being offensive to Maori people.



In the photo spread which pays tribute to French designer Jean Paul Gaultier, the actress and model has a moko - a tattoo worn only by the indigenous people of New Zealand - painted on her chin.



On Thursday the magazine issued a statement to Daily Mail Australia, saying they never intended to cause offence.



'We apologise unreservedly if we have caused offence. The image was not created or commissioned by Marie Claire, but one chosen as part of a retrospective of the work of the fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier,' it read.



'We would not knowingly support the appropriation of any aspect of another culture without the participation or support of the members of that culture.'



The image is from a controversial advertising campaign created by Gaultier in 2007 that showed male and female models with moko like designs on their faces, which was criticised at the time.



Marie Clare is not the only magazine to use the picture - Australian Women's Weekly also used it to promote an exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria which is showcasing the designers work

Return to the runway: Last week the 26-year-old hit the catwalk for the first time in six years at Milan Fashion Week in the Prada show



Ngarino Ellis, a senior art history lecturer at the University of Auckland, said the use of the traditional facial marking on a non-maori model was offensive.



'The way in which Marie Claire magazine is using these designs on their model is offensive,' Ellis told the New Zealand Herald.



He explained that the moko distinguished a maori person's genealogy and the role they play in their society, and that it was insensitive to simply paint a generic design on a person with no connection to the culture.



'It is disturbing that Marie Claire is so removed from current discussions globally about the importance of the fashion world to be ethical and culturally inclusive.'



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