H&M is at it again — they’ve made a scarf that looks remarkably like a tallit, or Jewish prayer shawl.
Racked is reporting that the fast-fashion retailer is currently hawking a beige scarf with black stripes on its website for $17.99. “H&M even incorporated its own version of tzitzit, the knotted fringe you’ll find on every tallit,” the story notes.
The Stockholm-based chain also has a matching fringed poncho for $34.99.
This isn’t H&M’s first foray into prayer-shawl chic: In 2011, they issued a similarly-styled women’s poncho. (Three years later, the brand was accused of anti-Semitism when it issued a tank top with a skull superimposed atop a Star of David.)
H&M is hardly the only major fashion retailer to wade into Jewish (or anti-Semitic) territory. Notably, in the summer of 2014, the Spain-based chain Zara sold a children’s striped “sheriff” T-shirt that looked alarmingly like a concentration-camp uniform, complete with a six-pointed yellow star on the left breast.
Amidst a social media firestorm, the brand apologized and pulled the item from stores.
“Fashion changes, but style endures,” Coco Chanel famously once said. Clearly, observant Jews were onto something: In July 2015, Old Navy sold a Women’s Handkerchief-Hem Open-Front Cardigan that strongly resembled a prayer shawl.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
