Clothing brand Bstroy sparks outrage with school shooting sweatshirts

Clothing brand Bstroy is facing backlash after it unveiled hoodies emblazoned with the names of school shooting locations as part of its Spring 2020 collection.

The sweatshirts, which feature school names including Sandy Hook, where 27 people were killed, Virginia Tech, where 32 people were killed, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas, where 17 people were killed, were debuted during a show at New York Fashion Week.

In addition to the names of the school shootings, the Atlanta-based designers also added bullet holes and a tattered design to the sweatshirts.

On Instagram, where the streetwear brand shared photos of the apparel, the response has been one of disgust and disapproval.

“You should be ashamed of yourselves,” one person commented.

On a photo of a sweatshirt that reads “Stoneman Douglas,” another person said: “17 people died, this is just stupid.”

Among those criticising the hoodies were survivors and family members of those lost in the school shootings, who expressed their horror over the design.

An Instagram account for the Vicki Soto Memorial Fund, named for a teacher who died in the Sandy Hook shooting, wrote: “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.”

Marjory Stoneman Douglas survivors also spoke out, including senior Karissa Saenz, who wrote: “My dead classmates dying should not be a f***ing fashion statement” and Kyle Kashuv, who called the sweatshirts “disgusting”.

But, according to Bstroy designer and co-founder Brick Owens, the hoodies, which are part of the brand’s “Samsara” collection, are meant to display “irony”.

“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,” a post on his Instagram about the collection reads. “We are reminded all the time of life’s fragility, shortness and unpredictability yet we are also reminded of its infinite potential.

“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."

According to Today, the designer also said that the brand was attempting to make a comment about gun violence with the collection.

“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 said, adding that the brand is considering selling the hoodies, which were originally made for the fashion show only.

Despite the explanation, people have continued to criticise the brand.

“Children being mercilessly murdered in their classrooms isn’t a journey of the soul,” one person wrote. “Family members of the victims of these shootings have left comments on the hoodies expressing the pain you have caused them. Their voices matter more than whatever pseudo-spiritual message you thought you were spreading.”

The Independent has contacted Bstroy for comment.