It's been another weird week in retail. The #MeToo movement was commercialized into a $375 denim jacket, a pair of dad sneakers got a fashionable lift and Target came under fire for a Father's Day card that wasn't very … fatherly.
This, and more, in this week's retail therapy.
#MeToo isn't just a political stance — it's a fashion statement
Every revolution comes with a highly commercialized product — think the $375 army jacket Barneys released in November — and the #MeToo movement is no exception, according to Racked.
While it's a commonly-held belief that the best thing to do about something you don't like is to try and change it, the #WeWearthePants collection begs to differ. Fashion, it seems, is the new venue for political advocacy. And nothing says fashion quite like spending hundreds of dollars on basics.
The newsprint-inspired collection includes both a denim jacket and a pair of jeans, in case one politically-charged clothing item just doesn't get the message across. The "statement jacket" seems to be the ringer here, weighing in at $375 — $125 more than the "statement jean" — but it does unfortunately come with the shame of wearing a text-laden denim jacket in public.
There is one comforting thought in all this: The denim tracksuit probably wouldn't be any less politically aware than Melania Trump's latest decision to don a Zara jacket with the words "I really don't care, do u?" after her visit with detained immigrant children.
Dad sneakers get a boost
They say when you've got something good you should hang on to it, which in movie parlance usually means "create a sequel that falls disappointingly short of the original."
We can only imagine the same thought process was behind Balenciaga's decision to release the Triple S sneakers — better known as "those god awful $795 dad sneakers" — in "Half & Half" colorways, per Hypebeast. Half and half might be the perfect addition to your morning coffee, but when it comes to the clothes you put on your body, drawing a sharp line down the middle of a product says more "I sewed two of my shoes together" than "I am the height of luxury fashion."
That said, there's always someone doing worse. In this case, that means turning dad sneakers into wedges with alarmingly high heels. The mastermind behind this horrendous creation is DSquared2, according to Teen Vogue, and models were actually asked to wear these at Milan Men's Fashion Week, reassuring everyone who couldn't attend that all we really missed out on was a few bad designs.
But hey, being a footwear retailer can't be easy — especially when you have to compete against fur-covered flip flops that retail for over $100.
#MilanFashionWeek
— Bafo_ka_Thanos (@mkncube) June 20, 2018
May we just leave the Power Rangers to the kids, atleast try Super girls' style pic.twitter.com/xt6PaQQezP
@Dsquared2 y’all not slick ???? #MilanFashionWeek pic.twitter.com/BFglTcNOGv
— ????Safari J???? (@Jd_Esco) June 19, 2018
Who's your baby daddy?
Father's Day is a time to celebrate the special men in your life, so naturally a retailer took things too far and managed to come off as racially inept in the process.
According to CNN, Target came under fire for a Father's Day card that featured an African American couple and the phrase "baby daddy" on the front, which according to one customer was the only card with a black couple on it at all. Needless to say, stereotyping a segment of the population did not go over well.
Naturally, Target laid the blame on their vendor, American Greetings, which in turn laid the blame on their product team, saying the card was "intended to be a playful husband card" and assuring Twitter users that the company told the team responsible that they had "missed the mark."
Nothing solves a problem of racial insensitivity quite like pointing the finger at someone else.
So the whispers down the lane were that @Target was supposed to remove the “baby daddy” card. Low and behold as of 9:45 pm in Philadelphia they’re still here. pic.twitter.com/PyCodTBbPZ
— Miss Pope (@Pomac) June 14, 2018
Looks like people are still real big mad about me posting my disdain over “Baby Daddy” cards. Oh well. I have a husband who is a father who is black let me get a card that represents that. Not this!! Glad it’s not just me. @target @americangreetings let’s do better pic.twitter.com/YhBUhRWCfO
— Takeisha Saunders (@Gagirlkeish) June 13, 2018
Under Armour takes a page out of the Milan Fashion booklet
Under Armour has become well known for its pricey line of Tom Brady-endorsed recovery pajamas, and now the retailer has taken it a step further with a new Palm Angels partnership.
The collaboration, detailed in a press release e-mailed to Retail Dive, includes a line of recovery technology clothing that looks a little bit like a cross between the clothing choices of a prison inmate and Bradley Cooper from Silver Linings Playbook.
Models wore dark glasses and grim expressions, not unlike the cast of the Matrix, although the show tragically sported no overcast skies or green coding to complete the look of this post-apocalyptic athletic wear.
While the clothes might not be available for purchase until 2019, the showcase at Milan Fashion Week is all we really need to decide how we feel about it. Just take the blue pill.
