High-street giants Zara withdraw 'Holocaust lookalike' child's T-shirt after outrage
HIGH-STREET chain Zara have withdrawn a child's T-shirt after outraged social media users pointed out the garment was similar to uniforms worn by concentration camp inmates.
The world's biggest clothing retailer had marketed the item - which featured blue-and-white stripes and a prominent yellow star - online as a 'Striped Sheriff T-Shirt'.
However, many Twitter users were quick to spot the resemblance to the Star of David-adorned clothes inmates were forced to wear in Nazi internment camps.
The child's T-shirt was also reported to be on sale on Zara's Israeli-version of their website, as well as other online stores around the world, including Germany.
What were the designers thinking @ZARA ? http://t.co/SukupXR3XN pic.twitter.com/hzhcUbO0Kz
— Nathalie Rothschild (@n_rothschild) August 27, 2014
Um, something tells me @ZARA won't be keeping this PJ top on the market for long #fail http://t.co/kaKCNarPQn
— Lindsey Tramuta (@LostNCheeseland) August 27, 2014
The garment was inspired by the classic Western films, but we now recognise that the design could be seen as insensitive and apologise sincerely for any offence caused to our customers.
Posting a picture of the offending garment one user, Eylon Aslan-Levy, wrote: 'What designer at #Zara thought this scream "sheriff" rather than "Auschwitz inmate"? Yes, this is real.'
Another, Jonathan Witt, posted: 'Today's example of bad taste retail brought to you by @ZARA.'
And Gidon Shaviv added: 'Wow. How did "Zara" make this mistake? Holocaust look alike shirts…'
Zara today bowed to pressure and removed the T-shirt from all their stores as well as their website.
A spokesperson said: "The item in question has now been removed from all Zara stores and Zara.com.
"The garment was inspired by the classic Western films, but we now recognise that the design could be seen as insensitive and apologise sincerely for any offence caused to our customers."
It is not the first time Zara have caused controversy with one of their items.
In 2007, the Spanish company stopped selling a handbag after customers pointed out its design featured a swastika-style symbol.