This beggars belief.
‘The Brooks’ was a British slave ship in the 18th century. Even in an age when the trade of human life was somehow seen as normal, it caused controversy when the plans were published in 1788. They brought the sheer lack of humanity and sickening cruelty of the slave trade into stark and unambiguous focus for everyone to see.
The plans show a ‘storage’ of people on the vessel which treated them as sub-animal. The idea was to ‘hold’ them as inanimate objects, laid down top to toe aside each other with barely a six foot by one foot space for men, and even less for women and children. To our eyes it is barely conceivable, but even back then it caused uproar.
For some unfathomable reason, someone thought the plans would make a passable design for a mini-skirt in 2016. This was then put together and advertised for sale to the public on Australian marketplace site Redbubble.com. It was possible to purchase the garment around the world for $35, or £28.
How this was allowed to happen is hard to understand, and impossible to excuse. Not only is the design infamous for its shameful and deeply saddening origins, but the item description is jarringly frank about what the garment symbolises: ‘BROOKES MIDDLE PASSAGE SLAVE SHIP 1788’.
Slave ship print skirt, WTF??? pic.twitter.com/IBvBG4DIKr
— Dr. Isabelle Lachat (@isastylite) November 19, 2016
As you can imagine, many people were rightly shocked and disgusted by the fact that the product was on general sale, and did not get vetoed at any stage. Due to the angry reaction, Redbubble have since removed the item, but a similar holocaust design remains on the site. It seems nothing is off limits when it comes to making a quick buck.
Rebbubble is selling a skirt with a slave ship printed on it. Please let me see someone wear this so I can spill coffee on it. Disgusting.
— Maggie 🦁 (@Maggie_Lioness) November 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/rimageorges_/status/800314297775554560
Damn right you took this webpage down Red Bubble you colossal shower of stupid. In what world was this ever OK? pic.twitter.com/2weVpptHlz
— Michael Moran (@TheMichaelMoran) November 23, 2016
Soooo @redbubble The murder and enslavement of millions of africans is fashionable to you?? https://t.co/KjSPoVqqcL
— Rstewart.artspan.com (@RStewartJewelry) November 19, 2016
https://twitter.com/Mommyof7/status/800031808008044544
