Sunday, November 13, 2011

Jay-Z Selling ‘Occupy All Streets’ Tee Under Rocawear Label


One-percenter Jay-Z (or whomever designs his clothing line, Rocawear) has found inspiration in Occupy Wall Street. The simple black tee features the phrase “Occupy Wall Street” but with the “W” scribbled out and an “s” added at the end to read, “Occupy All Streets.” Clever, maybe, but supportive? Maybe not.
Jay-Z’s friend Kanye West recently showed up to an Occupy Wall Street march wearing a $355 Givenchy shirt, and this tee, which is supposed to be available to purchase some time today, may not be any more OWS-appropriate. According to Business Insider, profits from the tee will all go to Rocawear and not the social movement it calls attention to. A spokesperson for Rocawear issued the following statement:
The ‘Occupy All Streets’ T shirt was created in support of the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement. Rocawear strongly encourages all forms of constructive expression, whether it be artistic, political or social. ‘Occupy All Streets’ is our way of reminding people that there is change to be made everywhere, not just on Wall Street. At this time we have not made an official commitment to monetarily support the movement.
If Jay-Z was trying to show support for OWS, that plan totally backfired when he decided to profit from it and not share any of the wealth. Woops! Unfortnuately, this isn’t the first instance of a fashion company trying to capitalize on Occupy Wall Street (thereby completely ignoring its overall mission) and probably won’t be the last.

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