A luxury fashion house based in Spain recently removed an outfit that closely resembled concentration camp uniforms from the Holocaust.

The striped pantsuit was removed from the Loewe website and the company issued an apology. The outfit, which was being sold for US$1,840, was part of a capsule collection inspired by the tile drawings of the 19th-century British ceramicist William De Morgan.

Diet Prada, a fashion industry watchdog account on Instagram, called out Loewe for the outfit and called for a response.

“Unable to see anything but concentration camp uniforms in this US$1,840 ensemble from @loewe’s William De Morgan capsule, a collection meant to ‘capture a freedom of imagination,’ ... There’s not actually much left to the imagination when the resulting look is so uncannily disturbing.”

In its statement, Loewe said: “It was brought to our attention that one of our looks featured in a magazine and part of our Arts and Crafts ceramicist William De Morgan could be misconstrued as referring to one of the most odious moments in the history of mankind. It was absolutely never our intention and we apologise to anyone who might feel we were insensitive to sacred memories. The products featured have been removed from our commercial offering.”

Last month a visiting delegation of five Chinese officials representing the Communist Party of China were in Israel for the Sino-Israel Global Network and Academic Leadership’s (SIGNAL) Annual Policy Conference, including high-level policy talks.

This year marks the 4th Annual Policy Conference, and the third time it is being coorganised with the World Jewish Congress’ Israel Council on Foreign Relations.

The talks represent a unique concerted effort to establish significant, long-term alliances between China and Israel for mutually beneficial and broadbased cooperation between the two nations.

China’s Ambassador to Israel, Zhan Yongxin commented: “We [China and Israel] see [the potential to form] long term opportunities in innovation from various sectors [...] There is still a great deal to do to unleash its full potential.”

Israel’s blossoming cooperation with China in the face of the increasingly tense ChinaUS relationship requires Israel to seek new ways to navigate these narrow straits. As former Mossad director Efraim Halevy noted, “SIGNAL’s Annual Policy Conference presents a rare opportunity for a candid conversation between Chinese, Israeli, and American officials around these imminent matters.”