Streetwear brand slammed for designing hoodies with bullet holes inspired by Sandy Hook, Columbine school shootings
Bstroy, a self-described "neo-native" post-apocalypse streetwear brand created by Brick Owens and Duey Catorze, has stirred up quite an outrage on social media after it showcased its 2020 menswear collection in New York City recently.
Apart from various kinds of suits and T-shirts, the models on the runway donned hoodies emblazoned with logos of schools like Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas — all of which have faced mass shootings in the recent past.
Moreover, the hoodies were covered in round-shaped rips that resembled bullet holes. Photos of the models wearing the hoodies were uploaded on the official Instagram page of Bstroy, which immediately set off a chain of angry reactions from social media users.
"My dead classmates dying should not be a f***** fashion statement," one Instagram user wrote, while another wrote, "I lived through this. To make money off of something pathetic like this is disgusting. You don't even know how it is to live every day with reminders everywhere you go."
A third user commented, "There's so much trauma within not only myself but within thousands of other people who have experienced gun violence. This is disgusting."
Owens shared a photo of a note on Instagram, attempting to explain why he had chosen to depict the mass shootings through his designs.
"Sometimes life can be painfully ironic," Bstroy's note said. "Like the irony of dying violently in a place you consider to be a safe, controlled environment, like school. We are reminded all the time of life's fragility, shortness, and unpredictability, yet we are also reminded of its infinite potential."
The note continued, "It is this push and pull that creates the circular motion that is the cycle of life. Nirvana is the goal we hope to reach through meditation and healthy practices that counter our destructive baits. Samsara is the cycle we must transcend to reach Nirvana."
Catorze also told Insider that Bstroy "wanted to make a reference to the victims with reverence," in a way "that depicts them as heroes".
"We wanted to make a comment on gun violence and the type of gun violence that needs preventative attention and what its origins are, while also empowering the survivors of tragedy through storytelling in the clothes," he added.