MINNEAPOLIS — From couture to fast fashion, companies continue to produce racially charged products.
But the bigger question is, why?
Do they just not get it?
A local designer says he's been working since 2016 to change the clothing conversation.
Burberry created a sweatshirt with a noose for drawstrings.
Earlier this month, Gucci made headlines for its sweater resembling blackface.
Around the same time, Katy Perry's shoes with what resembled a blackface design were removed from stores.
Minneapolis fashion designer Houston White says the pattern of images representing racism and oppression on the runway is proof of something bigger.
“I would say it further laments the fact that black people specifically need brands that represent them,” he said. “It is almost like a stamp of validation that what we are trying to do is important, more so than ever. Because there are certain people that don't value our culture."
White does, which led to the creation of a clothing line bearing his name, HWMR.
The most popular item he makes showcases two words: Black Excellence.
“They all want to wear that shirt. And it is just a very simple T-shirt with a very simple statement and very powerful,” he said. “Black excellence. Black excellence."
Excellence is something White said he saw in his grandmother.
“My grandma is a big inspiration. She used to sew hats. I had no appreciation for the artistry until I got much older and understood what she was doing and where her ability to sew came from, because she grew up as a slave hand,” he said, adding she made some of the clothes he wore from age 3-7.
When designing, he also thinks of his late wife, who battled cancer. He built a collection around her style.
“She was my biggest critic. When she gave the thumbs up I knew it was special,” he said. “The BE, in fact, that was her telling me, 'I am a black woman in corporate America, I can't always wear Black Excellence, but I want to wear something.'"
And celebrities like Floyd Mayweather and others have been spotted wearing his apparel. But before this latest divide, White used clothing to unite. In his shop, which doubles as a barbershop, hangs a photo of him and other community leaders including Mayor Jacob Frey and Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo.
“I really wanted to bring people together to have a larger conversation around our own biases and misconceptions and preconceptions on both sides.”
He also said he believes the controversy happening during the month of February is intentional. February is recognized nationally as Black History month.