The designer behind one of Target‘s brand partnerships for Pride month was revealed to have an affinity for Satanism.
Abprallen, a brand out of the United Kingdom and headed by a self-proclaimed gay, transgender man known as Erik, per the website, has had a collaboration in the works with the retailer for roughly a year. The collection includes a sweatshirt that reads “cure transphobia not trans people,” a tote bag that reads “too queer for here,” and a messenger pack that reads “we belong everywhere.”
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Among Abprallen’s other apparel are images of pentagrams, horned skulls, and references to devils. “Satan respects pronouns,” reads one previous design, featured on T-shirts and pins. These items have even been known to be sold at London’s Satanic Flea Market during December, which the brand promoted on its social media.
Target did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
“Being called a demon is something I can cope with, and the idea of a trans demon is pretty damn cool, most of my work focusses [sic] on gothic or dark and satanic imagery juxtaposed with bright colours and LGBT+ positive messages,” Erik wrote on the brand’s Instagram last year.
The designer claims that the brand was approached by Target for the collaboration while also acknowledging that the designs have already made “transphobes infuriated with me.”
“I wanted to ensure that any young people who saw Abprallen in Target would know that who they are is beautiful, purposeful, and worth expressing,” Erik wrote in a statement.
“I imagined what it would be like for a younger version of myself to see something more specific, more tailor made than a lacklustre rainbow flag. I wanted to create a range that would embrace younger me and tell him that who he is is more than OK, that being trans is special and wonderful and that the closet is not made for him to thrive in.”
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Target has had annual pride collections since 2012.
