Pakistan fashion house Sana-Safinaz under fire for rich-poor divide poster

The photographs are a vivid reminder of how the haves and have-nots rub along in Pakistan.

Bayl-a-Wajah, a blogger, posted a message saying the real issue was the way cotton pickers survived on as little as 30 pence per day, as part of an industry producing lawn – a very fine cotton fabric – for women who could afford to pay more than £50 for outfits that would last only a year.

"There is no moral superiority in being outraged at an advertisement if you cannot be outraged at the women who buy and wear these suits, the textile owners who enrich themselves and deny their workers decent wages and a safe working environment, and the violent economic injustice that is deeply embedded in our society," she wrote.

The row revives memories of the infamous Vogue issue of August 2008. A 16-page photoshoot in India paired a toothless Indian with a $200 Burberry umbrella. And a family-of-three squashed on to a motorbike driven by a mother carrying a Hermes Birkin bag.

No-one from Sana-Safinaz was available to comment on the advertising campaign.

However, one of their most famous clients Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who wore their dresses to Oscar parties after she won Pakistan's first Academy Award last month, suggested the row was something of a storm in an elitist teacup.

"Lets make some bets- Those creating the most hoopala about #sanasafinaz will be the 1st ppl in line for their lawns! #doublestandards," she tweeted.