The A. P. C.’s of appropriation

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Due to Jean Touitou’s first name, it should come as no surprise that the Tunisian-born founder of French label A.P.C. has largely built his credibility as a designer upon his jeans.

Because of the hard-ons that his raw denim and clothes elicit within both the street wear and fashion communities, Touitou has normally been given free reign to say whatever he wants. Oftentimes, as is the case with his very public disagreements with Saint Laurent’s Hedi Slimane, this carefree willingness to step on toes is entertaining; everyone loves a well-dressed old cynic whose very being pulsates with antipathy.

But last week, Touitou went from loveable ornery designer to racist appropriator. While presenting A.P.C.’s Fall/Winter ’15 collection, which includes a boot designed in collaboration with Timberland, Touitou held up a sign that read “LAST N*GGAS IN PARIS” and went on to give a lengthy description of one look.

“I call this one look Last N*ggas in Paris. Why? Because it’s the sweet spot when the hood—the ‘hood—meets Bertolucci’s movie Last Tango in Paris. So that’s ‘N*ggas in Paris’ and Last N*ggas in Paris. [Nervous laughter from the audience] Oh, I am glad some people laughed with me. Yes, I mean, it’s nice to play with the strong signifiers. The Timberland here is a very strong ghetto signifier. In the ghetto, it is all the Timberlands, all the big chain. Not at the same time—never; it’s bad taste. So we designed Timberlands with Timberland…”

Naturally, Touitou’s insensivtive commodification of black culture raised the ire of the public. In defense of his loaded remarks, Touitou cited his friendship with Kanye West, with whom he produced a collection last season. He told style.com, “as a matter of fact, when I came up with this idea, I wrote to him, with the picture of the look and the name I was giving to it, and he wrote back immediately saying something like, ‘I love this vibe.’”

If Kanye’s vote of confidence seems a cheap way to justify using a racial slur to sell clothes, that’s because it is.

Yes, the Timberland workboot has been an almost ever-present fixture within the rap scene, with its stars flaunting their wheat Timbs in videos and fans subsequently adopting them. But more concerning has been the fashion world’s complete co-opting of a boot that has been beloved by not just rap fans, but the working class as a whole. Snooty publications have betrayed their lack of perspective by their attempts to pass off the boot as a new trend.

Timberland naturally took a dim view of Touitou’s musings and immediately cancelled their collaboration.

Touitou has since apologized, saying, “when describing our brand’s latest collaboration, I spoke recklessly using terms that were both ignorant and offensive. I apologize and am deeply regretful for my poor choice of words, which are in no way a reflection of my personal views.”

While Timberland was quick to sever relations, the conversation ignited by the debacle has been useful in how it didn’t just look at Touitou’s error and instead focused on racial appropriation elsewhere. Julianne Escobedo Shepherd’s piece for The Muse, “APC Designer: I Can Call My Clothes ‘N*gga’; I’m Friends With Kanye” is probably the best one for how it dealt with the fetishization of black culture with a refreshing frankness.

Let’s just hope that other designers wise up and start treating other cultures with respect, not for the sake of their lucrative collaborations, but for the sake of being better human beings.

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