An infamous 18th-century British slave ship, or great design for a miniskirt?

Redbubble.com - a marketplace for designers - listed a miniskirt for sale with an unusual print - detailed plans of the Brookes ship.

The plans, which envisage holding down slaves side by side like inanimate objects, caused great controversy when they were published in 1788, and the image became a symbol for the abolitionist and anti-slavery cause.

So it's possible that the design was intended to serve as a protest against slavery and a gesture towards past human suffering. Otherwise, it's difficult to imagine the reasoning behind such a design.

Nevertheless, the sale of the $35 dollar item, listed as 'BROOKES MIDDLE PASSAGE SLAVE SHIP 1788', was greeted with outrage.

The garment has since been removed from the site.

However, an equally inexplicable miniskirt with the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, is still available to buy. Also for $35.

Picture: (Screenshot / Redbubble.com)

Redbubble has been contacted for comment