Spanish fashion retailer Zara has removed a children’s Halloween costume from sale after criticism that its design resembled the uniforms worn by prisoners in Nazi concentration camps.
Zara, part of the Inditex group, faced backlash after images of the costume circulated online. The outfit featured a blue-and-white vertically striped jacket and trousers with deliberately distressed detailing. Prints resembling barbed wire and sleeve patches similar to prisoner identification numbers added to the resemblance.
Israeli journalist Dov Gil-Har was among those who criticized the design on X, describing it as a costume styled after Nazi concentration camps.
The outfit has since disappeared from Zara’s online store and is no longer being sold in physical locations. In a statement responding to enquiries, Zara Home said it regretted any misunderstanding caused by the children’s Halloween “groom” costume and confirmed that it had been withdrawn from both stores and its website.
The company did not explain how the similarities to concentration camp uniforms were missed during its internal product review process.
This is not the first time Zara has been criticized over designs associated with Nazi persecution.
In 2014, the retailer withdrew a blue-and-white striped children’s shirt that featured a yellow six-pointed star on the chest. Critics said the design evoked the yellow stars that Nazi authorities forced Jewish people to wear as a means of public identification and persecution.
Zara also faced controversy in 2007 after selling a fabric bag decorated with swastikas alongside floral motifs.
The latest incident has once again raised questions about the safeguards fashion companies use when reviewing designs, particularly products aimed at children and those referencing historical or cultural imagery.
