urban outfitters

Urban Outfitters Under Fire for Selling Holocaust-Themed Tapestry

Photo: Anit DEfamation League

Just a couple of months after Zara pulled a striped children’s shirt with a yellow star for being too reminiscent of garb worn by prisoners during the Holocaust, it appears that Urban Outfitters has committed a similar faux pas. The Anti-Defamation League is demanding that the chain discontinue a tapestry that features pink triangles overset on stripes (Intelligencer couldn’t locate the offending item online). “Whether intentional or not, this gray and white stripped pattern and pink triangle combination is deeply offensive and should not be mainstreamed into popular culture,” said ADL national spokesman Abe Foxman. Like the yellow Star of David, the pink triangle was one of many symbols used by Nazis to identify their prisoners. It was worn by gay men but has since been co-opted as a symbol of pride by some in the queer community — like in the Silence = Death logos used by AIDS activist group ACT UP. Urban Outfitters previously drew the ADL’s ire in 2012, after selling a T-shirt with a six-cornered star on the left breast pocket.

Urban Outfitters Selling Holocaust-Linked Throw