Miu Miu removes clothing line featuring yellow star
File this under: What were they thinking?
How did the designers at the Italian fashion house Miu Miu, a subsidiary of Prada, come up with the idea of putting a yellow star on some of the items in their fall clothing line?
Did they come up with the idea of a name patch, and as they played with permutation (some items included a red or purple star patch, or a rectangular patch) the yellow star popped up and nobody recognized it?
Did the designers misinterpret a subconscious recognition as a flash of creativity?
Was it a deliberate effort to be transgressive?
Or is there an actual cell of neo-Nazis laboring in secret in the Italian fashion industry that decided this moment was ripe for their message?
Sadly, the press release from the World Jewish Congress announcing that Miu Miu was withdrawing the items failed to get to the root causes of this fascist fashion fail.
In a message to WJC, Preia Narendra, senior vice president of marketing and communications at Miu Miu, said: “Thank you for bringing this to our attention. It was not Miu Miu’s intent in any way to make any political or religious statement, and we apologize for any offense that may have been taken. Kindly note that effective immediately these items will be removed from the collection.”
Just to be clear: This is high end back-to-school wear. A dress with the yellow star was being sold online for $2,170.
“The World Jewish Congress commends Miu Miu and its parent company Prada on its swift attention and action to the concerns we raised regarding the use of the yellow star on its clothing items,” Robert Singer, the World Jewish Congress CEO, said in a statement. “At this critical time, when anti-Semitism and bigotry are rearing their heads in the public sphere, we must continue to exercise caution and show sensitivity in every sphere and sector.”
Three years ago, the international clothing chain Zara apologized for selling a blue-and-white-striped shirt with a six-pointed yellow star on the chest. The shirt, for toddler boys, was identified as a “striped sheriff T-shirt.”
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