Under Armour, the high-end sports apparel company hired fashion designer Tim Coppens to boost the company’s style points in the summer of 2016. In an interview, Coppens referred to his designs as “ghetto” without realizing how problematic and foolish he sounds in saying so.
Business Insider reports:
In an interview on stage at the Women’s Wear Daily Men’s Wear Summit on Tuesday, Tim Coppens, owner of his eponymous label and creative director of Under Armour Sportswear, described how he brings his aesthetic to the physical spaces he designs.
“I talk a lot about craftsmanship in what we do. The way we build our studio, the way we build our desks, the way we set up our events space,” Coppens said on stage in an interview with WWD Style Director Alex Badia at the Summit. “There’s also a little bit of ghetto in it.””
Badia followed up asking what Coppens meant by using the term ghetto which naturally has some negative connotation. Coppens replied by saying that what he really meant is that the design approach he applies has a “roughness” to it.
So why not just use the word “roughness” then? Right.
It’s not necessary to give a lesson why the use of the term is problematic, but most know that the word signifies an area where marginalized and oppressed minorities were forced to dwell due to socio-economic pressures. And for a company that sells what some feel is overpriced gear, how could Coppens comfortably fix his face to even associate the brand with the impoverished.
It’s a corny term with racist intentions so hopefully, someone got into his ear and corrected his views.
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Photo: Under Armour
