There is a world of difference between being hip, cool and stylish and being offensive, disrespectful and rude. And woe to the brand that does not know the difference. Seen this yesterday? On Sunday, Urban Outfitters started selling a “vintage” Kent State University sweatshirt. It appeared to be splattered with fake blood. Many people, including the Storytegic team, took this design to be a reference to the 1970 Kent State University shootings, in which the Ohio National Guard gunned down four unarmed college students during a protest of the Nixon administration’s bombing of Cambodia. Lets be clear here. There is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- hip, cool or stylish about what happened at Kent State. It was, and remains, a tragedy. Kent State University released a statement on Monday expressing their objections. “We take great offense to a company using our pain for their publicity and profit,” the statement reads. “This item is beyond poor taste and trivializes a loss of life that still hurts the Kent State community today.” And how about Urban Outfitters? What have they said? “Urban Outfitters sincerely apologizes for any offence our Vintage Kent State Sweatshirt may have caused,” a company spokesperson wrote in a statement. “It was never our intention to allude to the tragic events that took place at Kent State in 1970 and we are extremely saddened that this item was perceived as such. The one-of-a-kind item was purchased as part of our sun-faded vintage collection. There is no blood on this shirt nor has this item been altered in any way. The red stains are discoloration from the original shade of the shirt and the holes are from natural wear and fray. Again, we deeply regret that this item was perceived negatively and we have removed it immediately from our website to avoid further upset.” So, now were left to wonder: Who designed this? (Urban Outfitters will not say.) What were they thinking? The Daily Beast reminds us of a few things about this so-called edgy brand: Urban Outfitters has a track record of putting out products that veer into attention-grabbing, supposedly edgy territory. These items often offend enough people and organizations to generate at least a couple days’ worth of publicity. The Monopoly-style Ghettopoly board game was drenched in racial stereotypes, and angered the NAACP. Navajo Nation once took Urban Outfitters to court for trademark infringement. And the Anti-Defamation League condemned the fashion chain for selling a shirt that resembled what Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust. Hip, cool, stylish? No. Offensive? Yes. VERY.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 10:13:59 +0000
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