Loewe pulls outfit accused of resembling Nazi concentration camp uniform

By

Eva Gracia Morales

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Nov 26, 2019

Spanish luxury label Loewe has apologized and withdrawn from its sales channels a two-piece set heavily criticised for being similar to the uniforms worn by prisoners in Nazi concentration camps.

The storm broke on Saturday, when Diet Prada, the Instagram account with more than 1.6 million followers whose mission is to unearth issues within the world of fashion, posted a gallery of images comparing the controversial outfit (featured in an editorial in Vogue’s UK edition) with the uniforms worn by Jewish concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust. 

“Unable to see anything but concentration camp uniforms in this $1,840 ensemble from Loewe’s William De Morgan capsule, a collection meant to ‘capture a freedom of imagination [sic]’.” said Diet Prada in its post. 

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Diet Prada asked Loewe for an explanation and, on the same day, the label published an apology through the Stories feature of its Instagram account.

“It was brought to our attention that one of our looks featured in a magazine and part of our Arts and Crafts collection with ceramicist William De Morgan could be misconstrued as referring to one of the most odious moments in the history of mankind,” stated Loewe, adding: “It was absolutely never our intention and we apologise to anyone who might feel we were insensitive to sacred memories. The products featured have been removed from our commercial offering.” Contacted by FashionNetwork.com, Loewe declined to make any additional statement.

The contentious outfit, a two-piece set with vertical stripes in black and white and a patch with the Loewe logo on the chest, is part of the capsule collection created in collaboration with ceramist William De Morgan, a collection which critics regarded as one of the most artistic of the season.

As Diet Prada also pointed out in its post, Loewe isn’t the first label to be involved in this kind of controversy. In 2014, another Spanish fashion giant, Zara, withdrew from the market a t-shirt with horizontal stripes and a yellow star on the chest, accused of being too similar to the uniforms worn by Jewish concentration camp inmates.