Zara withdraws kids’ t-shirt that resembles concentration camp uniform http://t.co/oaNn6pgKH2 via @JonnElledge pic.twitter.com/ERkVPudDhj
— Holly Brockwell (@hollybrocks) August 27, 2014
Global fashion chain Zara, owned by Spain’s Inditex, pulled from sale on Wednesday a striped children’s top decorated with a large six-pointed star after it was likened to uniforms worn by Jewish concentration camp inmates in Nazi Germany.
The shirt, bearing horizontal blue and white stripes, was on sale online in three European countries but not in Israel, an Inditex spokeswoman said. The resemblance was unintentional and the design had been inspired by sheriff’s stars from classic Western films, she said.
Within hours of the t-shirt being put up for sale, some newspapers had picked up on its resemblance to concentration camp uniforms and messages were posted on Twitter criticizing the design.
“The shirt bears a large six-pointed star on the upper-left section, in the exact place where Nazis forced Jews to wear the Star of David,” wrote Israeli newspaper Haaretz, calling the garment “hauntingly reminiscent of a darker era”.