An American streetwear brand has apologised for selling a T-shirt featuring an infamous image of an Australian teenager wearing shackles and a spit hood.
Video footage of juvenile detainee Dylan Voller cuffed to a mechanical restraint chair drew widespread condemnation after it was aired on ABC's Four Corners program in 2016.
The vision prompted the government to appoint a royal commission into youth detention in the Northern Territory.
Las Vegas-based fashion boutique KNYEW created and sold the “detention tee” based on the same images.
The phrase "faded youth" was imposed over the picture and the words "youth detention" was written on the back.
Social media users criticised the design calling it “disgraceful” and “vile”.
One user wrote: "I expect to hear that you’ve reached out to Dylan’s family and offered a personal apology, enlightened your team on the story and trauma behind that image and that you work alongside Indigenous youth to design a t-shirt that represents and empowers them as a small mark of respect."
Dylan Voller has become an important voice in the fight for justice for incarcerated Indigenous youth. Source: AAP
The brand's Facebook page was also given more than 200 one-star reviews in apparent protest.
KNYEW posted a statement on social media on Saturday saying it had sacked designer responsible and would no longer sell the T-shirt in stores or on its website.
"[We] would like to apologize for any pain we have caused especially to Dylan and his family," KNYEW posted on its Facebook page.
The shirt was sold more than 50 times before it was removed.
Last month, a parliamentary committee was told that – a figure which has not changed since the royal commission.
