A pair of leggings with images from Steven Spielberg's 1993 historical drama Schindler's List found at a thrift store is polarizing the internet after a comedian shared an image of the item.
The patchwork design on the leggings featured Liam Neeson from the film as Oskar Schindler–the real-life German industrialist and member of the Nazi Party who helped save the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust.
Also prominently featured was the Image of the "girl in the red coat"–who symbolized the innocence of the people being slaughtered–standing on the railroad tracks leading to Auschwitz.
Comedy writer Emily Murnane sarcastically tweeted the image with:
"Babe, what’s wrong? You’ve hardly worn your Schindler’s List leggings."
Babe, what\u2019s wrong? You\u2019ve hardly worn your Schindler\u2019s List leggings.pic.twitter.com/8G29dLqAVC— Emily Murnane (@Emily Murnane) 1650245619
Her tweet has gone viral since its posting on April 17.
Also can we talk about how this makes it look like a film noir about a detective looking for a missing girl?— Miles (@Miles) 1650388824
..and I thought I'd never see anything worse than this pair of shorts.pic.twitter.com/PcGFq2LM5M— Tom Doggett (@Tom Doggett) 1650357377
Schindler's Fits?— Tyler Sutherland (@Tyler Sutherland) 1650388598
Wow. A world of wrong, right there. Bet they're not even licensed, either.— Sir Sebastian G Petit, Duke of Buckingham & Purley (@Sir Sebastian G Petit, Duke of Buckingham & Purley) 1650375003
No the Sophie's choice leggings are far to comfortable to take off— Me (@Me) 1650379578
Geez. The girl in the red coat is a real kick in the nuts in this design choice. \n\nListen, the designer wanted to add a "pop of color", I get it. But...pic.twitter.com/F10OLOipKf— your mom \u2022 she/her (@your mom \u2022 she/her) 1650254651
Please tell me thesw pants are in China...please. \n\n*I say that because Chima often puts weird stuff on clothing, because they are completely unaware of what they're doing. Just because it's a blockbuster hit here in America, does not mean anybody in China has seen it.— \u0550\u03c5\u0271\u0ae6\u0550 \u04ba\u0e04\u03c2 \u027f\u0a6e \ud83c\udff4 (@\u0550\u03c5\u0271\u0ae6\u0550 \u04ba\u0e04\u03c2 \u027f\u0a6e \ud83c\udff4) 1650384199
I don\u2019t even understand.— Stefan Brogren (@Stefan Brogren) 1650307766
I know you shouldn\u2019t stare at people on the street as it can make them uncomfortable. But someone wearing those should expect some attention. Maybe from a mental health professional.— Darren Boyle (@Darren Boyle) 1650363616
There was some demand for the item.
THIS IS MY FAVORITE TWEET OF THE CENTURY. CAN SOMEONE BUY THESE AND SHIP THEM TO ME I WILL PAY DOUBLE— Jared Saya (@Jared Saya) 1650387009
bro honestly someone buy these for me— Wolf Bessy (@Wolf Bessy) 1650373513
I tried to get a pair, but they were taken— Adam H. (@Adam H.) 1650396476
The original photo of the leggings was taken by social media user Elise Grace Brown, who shared it with @thriftstoreart on Instagram after finding the item on a rack at Goodwill in Long Beach, California/
Although such designs on artisan sites are common and are generally protected from copyright laws under fair-use guidelines, not everyone found the merchandise design amusing.
Redbubble, a global marketplace for these types of print-on-demand merchandise, "restricted" sales of other products like iPhone cases, shower curtains, and mini-skirts that featured the same design credited by the designer and seller “angelbertran” after the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported on the viral leggings.
Redbubble spokesperson Marissa Hermo told JTA in a statement:
“The artwork referenced in this article has been restricted and we are adding additional monitoring measures as a result."
The spokesperson added that the items featuring characters from the movie “can be seen as trivializing the subject matter.”
“With all content uploaded by third party users, occasionally there are content issues that arise that do not comply with our protocols," said Hermo.
"We proactively monitor the marketplace each day and work to restrict certain designs from specific products when not appropriate.”
Speaking to HeyAlma, Brown–who shared the photo of the leggings to @thrifstoreart–said of the item:
“I just want to be really clear that, aside from Thrift Store Art, I haven’t posted anything about them because I’m an Episcopalian-raised, European white woman and it’s not my story to tell."
"I’m giving them to a Jewish comedian because that feels like the best place for this story."
She emphasized that the leggings make her "feel very uncomfortable and don’t belong to me for comment other than noting they exist and passing them on to people who can speak to their existence and humor, or lack thereof.”
How long the Schindler's List leggings were on sale is uncertain other than the fact that they retailed long enough to be purchased and later brought to a thrift store.
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