Image By: University of Salford Press Office

In honor of New York Fashion week, BuzzFeed recently published a feature showcasing ten of the most controversial ads the industry has ever seen.

Instead of typical pictures of beautiful women and chiseled men, the images show models sprawled across a staircase in a pool of blood, floating face-down in water and even impaled on an iron fence.

The ads for a New Zealand boutique include a fitting logo: “Be caught dead in it.”

While the fashion industry isn’t exactly known for modest, tasteful ad campaigns (see Vogue’s Hurricane Sandy photo shoot), these specific images have sparked quite the debate. According to one reader of the BuzzFeed article:

“It’s just art, so I think it’s kinda cool.”

But others disagree, believing that the content of the image isn’t appropriate for what it’s trying to advertise:

“This isn’t a style of photography unless you’re referring to the macabre. In any case, the use of this ‘style’ to make a fashion statement is abhorrent.”

What do you think? Do the ads show the creativity of the photographers, or are they just plain inappropriate? Let us know in the comments below.