Critics blasted Bstroy after the streetwear brand’s school shooting-themed hoodies debuted in a Friday runway show in New York.
The sweatshirts featured the names of schools like Stoneman Douglas, Columbine, Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook that had been targeted by mass shooters, and each one appeared to be riddled with bullet holes. (RELATED: Meet The Fashion Designer Who Loves Trump)
TODAY’S TALKER: A designer has created a line of bullet-hole riddled sweatshirts with the names of schools hit by mass shootings. He says it’s to raise awareness, but do the hoodies miss the mark? https://t.co/QzbCVEA77G
— NEWS10 ABC (@WTEN) September 18, 2019
Each “Columbine” hoodie is riddled with what appear to be bullet holes. Backlash was swift. https://t.co/7zZimchpOU
— Wendy Suares (@wsuares) September 18, 2019
Sandy Hook Promise responded to the clothing line in an official statement Wednesday.
You can find our statement here: https://t.co/kJ64XC89dS
— Sandy Hook Promise (@sandyhook) September 18, 2019
That statement read, in part:
“The fact that a designer would seek to profit by glamorizing the school violence that killed our children, Dylan and Daniel, and the deaths of so many more, is repugnant and deeply upsetting,” said Nicole Hockley and Mark Barden, co-founders and managing directors of Sandy Hook Promise. “This is not about inspiring change to prevent these acts of violence, nor is it a difference of politics or opinion; it is human decency to immediately halt the production of these items and apologize.”
Bstroy designers Brick Owens and Duey Catorze explained the collection in their show notes, saying, “Sometimes life can be painfully ironic. Like the irony of dying violently in a place you considered to be a safe, controlled environment, like a school. We are reminded all the time of life’s fragility, shortness, and unpredictability yet we are also reminded of its infinite potential.”
Parkland survivor Kyle Kashuv called the collection “disgusting,” and the Instagram account for the Vicki Soto Memorial Fund posted a statement as well, adding, “As a Sandy Hook family, what you are doing here is absolutely disgusting, hurtful, wrong and disrespectful. You’ll never know what our family went through after Vicki died protecting her students. Our pain is not to be used for your fashion.”