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Imagine you work for a clothing brand. An edgy one “with a voice.” You sit down on your bean bag in your ripped jeans and repurposed trash bag of a shirt to have a pitch meeting and voice your offering for the upcoming line:
You: “So, school shootings.”
A woman with purple hair: “Hm. Heard of them. Go on.”
You: “Let’s bring them en vogue.”
Guy with too many tattoos: “Like a fashion show to benefit families of school shooting victims?”
You: “Nah, sweatshirts donning the names of schools affected by shootings.”
Guy with turtle-shelled glasses: “It’s missing something.”
Everyone [in unison]: “BULLET HOLES.”
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Dystopia-inspired fashion house Bstroy has recently unveiled hoodies featuring the names of schools ravaged by mass shootings, including Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, Marjory Stoneman Douglas and even Columbine.
The sweatshirts were debuted in New York over the weekend as part of their Spring 2020 menswear collection, the New York Post reports.
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Kyle Kashuv, a Marjory Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Florida) survivor, voiced his opinion on Instagram, which just so happens to be the opinion of every sane person:
“I would just like to say, what actual the hell is wrong with you. Goddamn monetizing off a school shooting. Disgusting.”
The Instagram account for The Vicki Soto Memorial Fund, named after a teacher who died at Sandy Hook added:
“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.”
The brand attempted to explain itself with a convoluted comment about irony or some shit.
“Sometimes life can be painfully ironic. Like the irony of dying violently in a place you consider to be a safe, controlled environment, like school,” the release read. “We are reminded all the time of life’s fragility, shortness, and unpredictability yet we are also reminded of its infinite potential.”