A ‘Church of Martin’ T-shirt (Instagram/church.ofmartin)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has accidentally promoted a fashion designer whose brand is aimed at gay and ex-Mormons.

The church shared a photo and interview with New York-based designer Pono Skousen on its official Instagram and Facebook accounts, unaware that one of his biggest projects is ‘Church of Martin‘, a brand aimed squarely at gay Mormons and former members.

Skousen told Queerty, it was “actually a funny timeline”. “The interview was filmed over a year before it was published… Church of Martin didn’t even exist yet. [We] launched the brand months later while the interview was still sitting in production.”

Founded by Skousen and fellow gay Mormon Charles Robertson, ‘Church of Martin’ describes itself as “the brand that struggles with same-sex attraction”.

Its designs include a t-shirt showing two women kissing captioned “Love One Another” and a “Gay Scouts of America” hoodie. They say it’s about “reclaiming your past, not with resentment, but with joy”.

The church’s comments saw members react alarmingly, one writing: “Please just stop. Please act saintly.”

Many offered support, with one saying: “Not sure why people are leaving hate comments when we could just be celebrating all the members of the church that want to be part of it.”

Skousen said the mixed response was nothing new. “Growing up gay and Mormon, I’m pretty familiar with criticism from both sides,” he said, adding that he was “not interested in becoming a symbol for either side of a culture war”.

He described the brand as “a silly gay fashion brand” rather than an anti-Mormon statement, adding: “We hope LGBTQ+ people know they don’t have to reject every part of where they came from in order to embrace who they are.”

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