Shoe brand apologises after controversial logo receives police complaints

A Malaysian shoe brand has apologised and offered refunds to its customers after its logo was deemed offensive for allegedly resembling the Arabic writing for the word God. While the company has claimed the resemblance to be a coincidence, it admitted to shortcomings in the design.

The logo for Vern's Holding is intended to represent a stiletto show featuring a spiralled ankle holder. "We have absolutely no intention of designing a logo aimed at belittling or insulting any religion or belief," the company announced in a statement. “The management would like to humbly apologise and seek forgiveness. We hope for compassion so we can rectify this mistake.” It goes without saying that this one won't be hitting our roundup of the best logos ever.

Along with the explanation, Vern's also shared an illustration on Instagram (above) explaining the design, pointing out how three points on the logo design are intended to correspond with the shape of the shoe.

According to the Independent, "religious authorities and police have said they were investigating the matter after receiving complaints from the public." That makes this the second 'offensive' logo we've seen receive a police complaint – a couple of years back the same dubious honour went to to Indian fashion website Myntra.