T-Shirt Company Tries to Make the Swastika Great Again

Here’s something you might have thought was obvious but apparently is not: Just because you put a rainbow over the most iconic symbol of 20th century genocide doesn’t mean it’s suddenly ready to become this summer’s hot new look.

I’m talking, of course, about the actual motherfucking swastika. Despite its historical significance as an Indian symbol of luck and prosperity, the swastika is now irrevocably associated with genocide and other atrocities because, you know, Hitler.

Sure, it sucks, but that’s what Nazis do. They ruin things.

Still, for European clothing makers KA Design, the swastika seemed long overdue for a comeback. And so, in early July, the company unveiled their plans to reclaim the symbol. With rainbows. And buzzwords. And dramatic symphonic backing.

I give you: “The New Swastika.” Please click.

If you couldn’t bear to click, here are just a couple of images from this thing.

I know what you’re thinking: I’d rather Nazi anyone wearing these deranged shirts!

This can’t be serious, right? Wrong! Not only did KA Design (which describes itself on Facebook as wanting to explore our boundaries, and push them forward”) launch an entire clothing line based on rehabbing the swastika, but in the face of massive blowback from just about everyone (no shit), the company vowed to “keep fighting” on Monday after the designs were removed from their Teespring page.

While the creatives behind KA Design remain anonymous for now, in an interview with Dazed magazine, they confessed to being fashion novices interested in simply “[sharing] the beauty of this symbol detached from the hatred associated with it.”

Gosh, isn’t that nice?

Of course, there’s already a very niche market for people interested in buying Nazi symbols—actual Nazis. Not that that seems to bother KA Design, who explained:

“If some kind of neo-Nazi goes out wearing our shirt, he will raise the same kind of questions and discussions as a communist wearing the same shirt. That’s why we don’t care about who buys the shirts.”

As the BBC notes, the company briefly relented to the onslaught of criticism, releasing a line of anti-swastika designs on their Teespring page, before the entire account was wiped clean.

Not that the company is giving up just yet.

“Our dream is to feel free to use this symbol without any kind of limitation, however we prefer,” they confessed to Dazed. “We will also release some designs that don’t involve a Swastika or anything similar.”

Good plan.