School Shooting Clothing Line Sparks Controversy

By Abby Dziura, 2020

Published 9/20/19

A New York-based street wear company, Bstroy, has recently come under fire for its new school shooting inspired clothing line.

On September 15th, the company’s Instagram posted photos of models sporting bullet hole-ridden sweatshirts with school logos from Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, Parkland, and Columbine. Each hoodie represents a prolific school shooting from the past twenty years.

The violent nature of the clothing sparked thousands of comments from angry critics, some even from Cheshire High School. The post with the most interactions (comments and likes) is Bstroy’s Sandy Hook sweatshirt, which alludes to the 2012 Connecticut shooting where twenty children and six adults were killed. “As someone who grew up in Ct [sic] 20 minutes away, this is absolutely disgusting,” said one commenter. “Whenever we mention the event in ct [sic], especially to high school kids we all remember hiding in our classes just before Christmas.”

Critics also took to Twitter to express their disgust with the brand, which has previously made “out-there” fashion like cement-dipped sneakers and jackets with extra hoods. Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter died in the 2018 Parkland shooting, tweeted, “Under what scenario could somebody think this was a good idea? This has me so upset.”

In response to the backlash, one of the company’s founders, Brick Owens, posted an explanation of the fashion show on his own Instagram: “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. it [sic] 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 habits. Samsara is the cycle we must transcend to reach Nirvana.” (Samsara is the name of the line).

Most commenters found this apology insufficient, one saying, “Even if you had properly employed irony in your clothing, you aren’t making any sort of statement for or against the gun control debate rendering your ‘creative vision’ completely meaningless.” Said another commenter, “How dare you... if the act needs justification, RECONSIDERATION is needed.”

Whatever people believe, it is clear that this street wear brand has gained a lot of attention from the incident, though negative. Only time will tell what people will think about Bstroy in the future.