Fury at trendy fashion label's logo that bears an astonishing resemblance to NAZI eagle
- Boy London brand has been criticised for its eagle design logo
- Emblem bears striking resemblance to the insignia used by Hitler's Nazis
- Shoppers have called for the logo to be withdrawn, branding it 'offensive'
Angry shoppers have demanded people boycott a fashion brand, claiming its logo bears a striking resemblance to the Nazi eagle insignia which became the national symbol of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.
A-list celebrities including singers Rhianna and Jessie J and model Cara Delevingne, have been spotted wearing the UK-based Boy London brand in the past.
The brand's logo depicts a spread-winged eagle perched on a podium on top of the letter 'O' in the world 'Boy', which is written underneath.
Outraged customers have called for the company to take action after drawing comparisons with the infamous Nazi Parteiadler symbol.
The fashion brand Boy London is coming under increased pressure to redesign its logo after angry shoppers drew comparisons between it and a symbol used by Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party
The Parteiadler emblem was made Germany's national symbol under Hitler's Nazi Party in 1935
The image was used as the emblem for Hitler's party.
The eagle is facing the same way as in the Boy London logo, but carrying a swastika in its claws, instead of the 'O'.
Department store, Fenwick, have now withdrawn the brand from its position at the entrance to their store in Brent Cross Shopping Centre in north-west London.
A spokeswoman for the store said: 'Our Boy London line is no longer on the shop floor as we investigate the matter directly with the brand.'
But unisex T-shirts featuring the eagle emblem were still on sale for £35 at Selfridges in the Bull Ring in Birmingham today.
Disgusted shoppers yesterday called for the brand to removed from all shops.
One customer, Polish-born Jakub Mozdzanowski, 34, said: 'I saw the logo on a T-shirt a few weeks ago and it wasn’t a good feeling. Then I saw it on someone else a week later and I even went over to speak to them.
Dictator Adolf Hitler is seen pictured in front of his Nazi Party's emblem the Parteiadler (left). And (right) the symbol is seen on the label of a 1943 bottle of unopened red Fuhrerwein wine
'I showed them the Nazi symbol on the internet and they were shocked.
'I don’t get offended easily but it was like a slap in the face. I showed it to my girlfriend and she said she didn’t like looking at it.
'It’s quite embroidered on Polish people’s minds, it gives you the creeps.
'I’m Polish so it’s quite close to home. I’ve heard stories from my grandparents about the war and about when we were invaded.
'The logo should be taken off. I would think if the logo went then the company would go with it.
'It is wrong that people wear it, I would call on people not to wear that logo.'
Despite the controversy, Boy London has refused to accept any comparison between its trademark logo and the fascist Third Reich’s Parteiadler symbol.
A spokesman said: 'The brand is in no way connected to Nazism or the idea of anyone being discriminated against for their creed, colour or religious beliefs.'
A white Boy London t-shirt (pictured) cost £35 from Selfridges in the Bull Ring, Birmingham
He explained that the logo 'was inspired by the eagle of the Roman Empire as a sign of decadence and strength. Its aim is to empower people rather than oppress'.
Boy London was founded by Israel-based businessman John Krivine in the 1970s and his original boutique in Chelsea, London, sold outrageous items - including t-shirts with dried animal blood and jewellery made from hypodermic syringes, which were modelled by the original punks.
Mr Krivine, who sold the punk-inspired company in 1984, said: 'I don’t know what kind of eagle it was - Roman Legion, American Indian, Continental Congress, Third Reich - it looked cool.'
Nazi imagery had been a feature of the late 70s punk’s rebellion and Mr Krivine’s competitor, Jewish punk entrepreneur Malcolm McLaren, sold swastika T-shirts to trade on the symbol’s shock value.
In 2007, high-street chain Zara was forced to withdraw stocks of handbags because they were emblazoned with swastikas.
Zara said the bag came from an external supplier and the symbol had not been visible when it was selected.
AN HISTORIC SYMBOL DERIVED FROM THE HOLY ROMAN EMPERORS
The Nazi Party emblem was inspired by an historic symbol used in Germany, the Reichsadler.
The Reichsadler was derived from the Roman eagle standard used by the Holy Roman Emperors.
At the time the eagle was the insignia of the Imperial power as distinguished from the Imperial states.
The eagle began to appear in the 9th Century on the banner of Charlemagne and his successors. Since then the majestic bird has been used to symbolise the Habsburg Monarchy as well as the Austrian Empire.
The Nazi Party emblem from The Admiral Graf Spee is raised from the seabed. The logo became the national symbol in Hitler's Germany in 1935
During the 1848 revolutions in Germany, attempts were made to re-implement the Reichsadler as a symbole of unity.
In 1871 a single-headed eagle became the insignia of Otto von Bismarck's Lesser German solution, which sought to unify the northern German states, leaving out Austria. In contrast the Greater German Solution favoured unifying all German-speaking peoples under ones state and was promoted by the Austrian Empire.
After the First World War the Weimar Republic under President Friedrich Ebert assumed a plain version of the Reichsadler, which stayed in use until 1935.
It was then that Adolf Hitler introduced his own stylised eagle combining the bird with the Nazi swastika to create a new national emblem.
Hitler introduced both his own version of the Reichsadler, in which the eagle is looking towards its right shoulder, and another version the Nazi Party's Parteiadler (the Party's eagle), where the eagle looks to its left.
At the conclusion of the Second World War and with the defeat of the Nazis, the Federal Republic of Germany re-introduced the eagle used by the Weimar Republic under the direction of President Theodor Heuss in 1950.
Most watched News videos
- Wild moment would-be mugger gets stabbed by victims
- Moment police rescue stabbed man after being buried for four days
- Chilling moment man follows victim before assaulting her sexually
- Man grabs huge stick to try to fend off crooks stealing his car
- Father and daughter attacked by Palestine supporter at Belgian station
- Met officer found guilty of assault for manhandling woman on bus
- Gillian Keegan describes 'evidence' behind new gender education rules
- Britain's 'kindest' plumber apologises after exploitation allegations
- Suspected shoplifter dragged and kicked in Sainsbury's storeroom
- Maths teacher given the nickname 'Bunda Becky' arrives at court
- 'Predator' teacher Rebecca Joynes convicted of sex with schoolboys
- Alleged airstrike hits a Russian tank causing massive explosion