Nobody knows for sure Joana Sanz's position regarding her husband Dani Alves, sentenced by the Barcelona Court to four and a half years in prison for raping a 23-year-old girl. However, in the era in which we live, where networks act as judge, jury and social executioner, a phrase or an image can awaken a hurricane of criticism overnight that culminates in the threatening cancellation policy. The image that Joana Sanz published on Tuesday on her Instagram account, with her hand and that of the soccer player intertwined, added to her favorable statement in the trial, has sparked a complex social debate that not only affects her personal life but also the professional.
Leaving aside public opinion, the truth is that the fashion industry and the world of image have their own roadmap and it never appears to be marred by controversy. This is confirmed by Ángel Herrera, director of Salvador Models, who points out that “brands want to transmit their values in their campaigns and the models they choose must contribute with their image to the message they want to project. “There are many considerations to take into account, but normally controversies with a negative charge usually lead to an escape on the part of the brands,” he acknowledges and adds that in the case of Sanz his continuous changes in position “do not play in his favor.”
There are precedents. The aforementioned cancellation policy has very real consequences in the lives of these public figures, even more so if they are public officials. Without going any further, in Valencia, Mónica Oltra was forced in 2022 to resign from her position as vice president of the community for an alleged cover-up of her ex-husband's sexual abuse of a warded minor. This Tuesday, two years later, the judge filed the case after seeing no crime in the case that forced her resignation.
That of Joana Sanz, however, is an open trial that is disputed on social networks and the signatures, taking into account the potential for controversy that may surround them, those who will dictate the sentence. It is told by a communications expert who works for a large fashion brand and who prefers to remain anonymous: “when we hire a model, we assume that she is a 'white face', meaning that she is not accompanied by a context or a story behind. The protagonist has to be the collection that she is wearing, and if the message stops being the collection and becomes the model's story, the protocol changes,” she says.
For this reason, firms do not hesitate to shield and protect themselves through sponsorship contracts and image rights. As detailed by Claudia Romera, an expert in branding, marketing, communication and business strategy and professor at ICModa, these contracts contain moral clauses, brand protection and negotiation and legal protection. “At the end of the day, sponsorship and image rights are based on the “transfer of values”, a kind of 'tell me who you hang out with and I'll tell you who you are' applied to business, which works both in a good way as in the bad one,” he admits.
For the aforementioned experts, one thing is clear: Joana Sanz must begin to be consistent with her position, since her work and image depend on it. Romera goes one step further and details some urgent measures to manage this image crisis. “Transparency and communication about her position in the controversy is essential for her at this time. Aside from the controversy, she must maintain professionalism in her work and present her response to the controversy as a reflection of her personal autonomy and her independence as a woman,” she says.
Although the impact of the controversy regarding her image is undeniable, the model seems to continue working away from the spotlight and the great international catwalks that she had previously conquered. Although on her Instagram wall the first three posted posts show campaigns from a year ago for Jimmy Choo, Wella and Etam, the model has ignored publishing on her wall - although she has made a small mention in a story - her most recent work in modeling. A campaign photographed in her homeland, the Canary Islands, for a local German fashion brand called Heine.
