Josh Nathan-Kazis reported that Zara stopped selling a skirt that looked, to some, to have a “Pepe” frog design, a symbol of the white supremacist so-called “alt-right.” It’s a shredded denim miniskirt with cartoon patches. The world will probably be OK in its absence. How Pepe-like was this frog? Judge for yourself:

Image by twitter

At Reason, Elizabeth Nolan Brown expresses skepticism about the Pepe resemblance:

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“The frogs on the Yime/Zara dress aren’t even intended to portray Pepe […]. They don’t look much like the alt-right icon in the first place, aside from general frogginess, and the artist has explicitly stated that “there is absolutely no link to the suggested theme.”

Brown also notes that frog-skirt designer Mario de Santiago is among the few “indie creators” Zara supports. This is relevant given the company’s history of getting accused of stealing artists’ designs.

Was the skirt controversy, as Brown suggests, a case of “social-media outrage” over nonsense? Or was Zara exhibiting a secret affinity for white nationalism?

I can think of a third possibility — and only a possibility, as my behind-the-scenes knowledge of the fashion world is nonexistent — which is that the company suspected the skirt would cause controversy, making its appearance and disappearance part of a publicity stunt. As in, you read about the skirt controversy and then later that day, not even quite realizing why, find yourself in the store, browsing its many tempting frog-less offerings. This is, in such cases (and there are so many), the cynical hypothesis at which I almost inevitably arrive.

Phoebe Maltz Bovy edits the Sisterhood, and can be reached at [email protected]. She is the author of “The Perils Of ‘Privilege’”, from St. Martin’s Press. Follow her on Twitter, @tweetertation

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount