Fashion house Valentino swears it didn't mean to arrange two beautiful pairs of boots to look like a swastika, in an image posted to social media on Monday.
The Italian designer drew a wave of criticism from its Instagram followers after posting the following image on its account, Mashable reported.
The picture, which has been removed, showed the Celia Birtwell-designed boots pointing inward, arranged on red and white rose petals, in a manner that drew comparisons to the Nazi flag.
(Image via Wikimedia Commons user Fornax)
One Instagram user quoted by The Daily Mail called the pattern "scary," while another said, "How dare you."
Valentino told the Mail that it "did not see what has been suggested in the image" and that it was taken down because the company would "never want to offend anyone.""
But this is far from the first time that the fashion industry has caused offense with items that reminded observers of the Second World War.
Earlier this year, Urban Outfitters was criticized by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for selling a tapestry that, it said, looked like the uniforms gay prisoners were forced to wear in concentration camps.
The very same company took heat in 2012 after selling a "Wood Wood Kellog Tee," which had a symbol that was compared to the Star of David that Jews were made to wear under Nazi occupation.
The Wood Wood Kellog Tee later disappeared from the retailer's website.
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