Thor Steiner’s links to neo-Nazi groups are widely known, but I was shocked to learn that a number of mainstream brands, including Ben Sherman, have neo-Nazi ties as well.
In fact, the ties are so significant that Berlin police officers are now banned from wearing Fred Perry, Ben Sherman, ACAB, Alpha Industries, Consdaple, Lonsdale, Pit Bull, Outlaw, Troublemaker, and Thor Steinar.
It is being reported that police authorities deem wearing any one of these ten labels as a sign of right-wing extremist views and consider it damaging for officers to be associated with such ideologies. Any officer found wearing one of these brands will face disciplinary action.
Given that this ranks high among possible public relations disasters, it’s no surprise that there has been some mild backlash from some of the involved brands. Ben Sherman and Fred Perry have both admitted that they are popular among right-wing extremists, but claim that they have tried hard to distance themselves from those groups by restricting outlets and publicly objecting to extremist ideology.
Images courtesy of the Fashion Spot forums.
