A founder of global fashion brand The Kooples - which has a string of celebrity ambassadors including Zayn, Stella Maxwell and Irina Shayk - has come under fire after dressing up as an African tribe member to celebrate the Jewish festival of Purim.

Photos and video footage of Laurent Elicha - one of the three French brothers behind the popular high street clothing brand - and his family dressed up were posted to his wife Noemi's Instagram account.

Laurent, 43, Noemi, 33, and their two young children are seen with their faces painted dark brown, wearing fake dreadlocks and tribal make-up and jewellery.

When Noemi shared the photos to her 26,000 followers, she was quickly accused of wearing 'blackface'.

The images have since been removed from social media. In a statement Noemie Elicha said she 'regret and apologises for any offence that has been caused'.

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Fashion chain The Kooples co-founder Laurent Elicha, 43, and his wife Noemi, 33, at a party to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim. Noemi told her 26,000 followers that she dressed up as an African because she loves the continent

The mother-of-two posted this caption alongside the images wishing her followers 'Hag Sameah' for Purim, which means happy holidays in Hebrew

Abover: as the couple normally look: Photos and video footage featured on Noemi's Instagram page and have attracted criticism from some of her followers, who say the couple are practising 'blackface' in the party images

An image posted by Noemi showing the couple with darkened skin, fake dreadlocks and tribal make-up; she captioned the photo '#tribalvibe'

Noemi Elicha used bright yellow and red make-up on her darkened skin and black lipstick

Criticism: Comments on the posts were largely positive but some accused the couple of wearing 'blackface', the last comment, in French, reads: 'It looks smart but it is blackface'

The practice of 'blacking up', which has its origins in the early 19th century when white people would mimic African Americans through stereotypes, is considered highly racist by many.

Some of the images explain why the family chose to dress as they did, with a close-up photo of Noemi captioned: 'When I said I fell in love with Africa'.

Another photo of Laurent and Noemi, with white make-up daubed on their darkened skin, in captioned #tribalvibes.

While the reaction to the photos in the comments left was largely positive, some criticised the couple.

Noemi Elicha and her two children dressed up for Purim, which took place on Wednesday 20th to Thursday 21st March. Jewish people wear fancy dress to mark when Jewish people were saved from persecution by Haman

Noemi regularly posts photos of herself and her husband Laurent, who represents womenswear for the brand, to her 26,000 followers on her instagram account

BLACKFACE HISTORY The practice of blackface was condemned as early as 1848 but continues to rear its ugly head in modern society. In the early 1800s, Blackface minstrelsy would feature white men with their faces painted black and exaggerated lips and eyes. The characters these men played were ignorant and uneducated, hyper-sexual, lazy and superstitious. They were also often criminals who stole, scammed and instigated confrontations. Frederick Douglass was one of the first to call out the practice, denouncing it in a review in 1848 in The North Star. Advertisement

One user, juliamia7171, wrote a series of negative emojis including a banned sign and the hashtag #blackface.

Another, acashany, writing in French wrote: 'c'est une chose ma puce mais la c'est du blackface' meaning 'It looks smart but it is blackface'.

The Jewish holiday of Purim, which took place on Wednesday 20th to Thursday 21st March sees Jewish people wearing fancy dress to mark being saved from persecution by Haman.

The fashion brand was founded by the three Elicha brothers - Alexandre, Laurent and Raphaël - in Paris in 2008 and targets couples.

Alexandre explained the company's quirky name: 'In French, couples sounds like "kooples". We wanted a place you could shop with your boyfriend.'

The smiling couple pose for photos during a very lively party to celebrate Purim

Laurent represents womenswear for the brand, which has around 350 stores across Europe and the US.

The company regularly teams up with celebrity ambassadors to create new lines with Stella Maxwell, former One Directon star Zayn and Irina Shayk all currently paid to promote the brand's clothes or accessories.

In a statement shared with MailOnline Noemie Elicha said: 'I regret and apologise for any offence that has been caused. This was not my intention in any way and I have removed the image from social media.'

Earlier this year, Gucci was forced to apologise for selling a sweater that many social media users said resembled blackface because of its design.

The $890 black balaclava knit top from the label's Fall/Winter 2018 season features a cut-out at the mouth that is outlined in red.

The controversial top was quickly discontinued after it sparked outrage on Twitter, with many claiming that it was a form of blackface.

Searches on Gucci's website revealed that the item is no longer listed, but archive searches indicate that the clothing item was last on the brand's site in January.

Many speculated that the items were released for Black History Month, but all of the pieces had been showcased months prior in 2018.

Poor choice: Last week, Gucci was heavily criticized for its $890 balaclava knit top from the Fall/Winter 2018 season, which features a cut-out at the mouth that is outlined in red

A Twitter user named Rashida shared a screengrab of another mask-like item that Gucci showed off on the runway last year, writing: 'They have a mask to match so you can have a chic classic black face moment without the mess of paint.'

The practice of blackface continues to cause deep offence.

In the early 1800s, Blackface minstrelsy would feature white men with their faces painted black and exaggerated lips and eyes.

The characters these men played were ignorant and uneducated, hyper-sexual, lazy and superstitious.

They were also often criminals who stole, scammed and instigated confrontations. The practice was condemned as early as 1848 but continues to make headlines.