Back in January, A.P.C. founder Jean Touitou came under fire for invoking the N-Word to describe the French brand’s latest collection which featured boots from a collaboration with Timberland.
Touitou claimed that he invoked the word because of Timberland’s association with the ghetto. He also pulled the “black best friend card,” by name-checking Kanye, but nobody was buying it. Timberland abruptly cut ties with the brand and the controversy seemed to fade away pretty quickly as the industry swiftly shifted its focus to New York Fashion Week.
The situation was a missed opportunity to have a much needed conversation about race, appropriation, and high-fashion’s often strange interactions with Hip-hop.
Parisian street artist Kidult recently decided re-open the dialogue by tagging an A.P.C. store with “Niggas” as a well as “Colored Entrance.” The artist posted his handywork to Instagram with the hashtags #whiteprivilege, #openyourmind, #youaretheslave, and #fashionweak.
