Outcry over Urban Outfitters Tapestry Resembling Gay Concentration Camp Uniform

< 1 min read

A piece of tapestry has appeared in US clothing retailer Urban Outfitters outlets which has raised the ire of the US Anti-Defamation League.

The Jewish watchdog group claim the tapestry, which has grey stripes and an inverted pink triangle, is “eerily reminiscent” of those uniforms used to identify gay male prisoners in Nazi concentration camps during WWII.

Urban-Outfitters-Tapestry
Urban Outfitters Tapestry

In a letter to Urban Outfitters President and CEO Richard A. Hayne, ADL expressed its concern over the insensitive design and the company’s periodic use of products within the realm of Holocaust imagery.

Advertisement

“Whether intentional or not, this grey and white stripped pattern and pink triangle combination is deeply offensive and should not be mainstreamed into popular culture,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and a Holocaust survivor.

“We urge Urban Outfitters to immediately remove the product eerily reminiscent of clothing forced upon the victims of the Holocaust from their stores and online.”

gay holocaust prisoners
Gay holocaust prisoners

The New York Daily News reported the tapestry was no longer on the Urban Outfitters website as of Monday, while something called a “Triangle-Stripe Curtain” was listed as sold out.

But Bloomberg Business did a check of an Urban Outfitters in New York on Tuesday morning and found the item was still for sale, priced at $69.

Urban Outfitters store
The gray-and-white striped tapestry with a pink triangle, which doesn’t appear on Urban Outfitters Inc.’s website, is available in stores, the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement today. Photographer: Allison Prang/Bloomberg

Have you ever purchased anything from an Urban Outfitters store? Would this lapse in judgement change your mind about buying in the future?

Last Updated on Feb 28, 2015


The news team for Gay Nation love tips from our readers. Got tips or a news story that you would like published? Go here to tell us something.
Visit the Gay Nation store Now