Tragedy disguised as fashion

Editor's note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

Tasked with the opportunity to incite inspiration, fashion as we know it has recently invoked fear with its latest controversial fad.

Amid frequent mass tragedies at the hands of mass gun violence, fashion label (B).stroy debut a spring/summer 2020 line of bullet hole collegiate-esque sweatshirts, during New York fashion week. These sweatshirts included the names of the most infamous school shootings attached—Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary, Virginia Tech, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Once becoming the pinnacle turning point for the nation, the 24th school shooting of 2018 occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL., collectively killing 17 students and staff members.

A year later, there’s been 22 school shootings in the US, and sadly that number will continue to rise. More so, the Washington Post reported, “more than 228,000 students have experienced gun violence in their schools since the 1999 Columbine High School Shooting.”

Outside of the fact that the deaths of many kids and young adults are evidently being exploited for clout, this clothing label inadvertently glorifies the result of gun violence and that is quite unsettling. Furthermore, with the increase of gun-related violence, one must ask has the American public become desensitized to tragedy, the more frequent it unfortunately occurs?

Considered the deadliest year on record of school shootings, according to Center for Homeland Defense and Security, 2018 accumulated at least 83 deaths or injuries in active-shooter incidents, including the Valentine’s Day mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Since then, it seems as though nothing has changed, except tensions have risen and people have frankly adapted to the frequent occurrences by protecting themselves—and it’s not by choice, but by circumstance.

Unsettlingly being the literal forefront of this labels’ debacle, Sandy Hook elementary made headlines in 2012 once enduring in a massacre, which took 26 lives.

However, in efforts to prevent this from occurring again, the elementary school created a nonprofit anti-gun violence organization, Sandy Hook Promise, under the ‘Keeping Our Schools Safe: A Plan to Stop Mass Shootings and End Gun Violence in American Schools’ campaign.

The elementary school has recently taken it a step further to highlight the gruesome reality with its viral, yet chilling advertisement.

Under the premise of being a cliché back to school essentials advertisement, it is certainly nothing of the sort. The advertisement paints a triggering depiction about school shootings and how today's youth prepare for it—instead of worrying about what clothes to shop for, it is which bulletproof backpack should be bought based on reliability.

This visual depiction is raw and grim, however, it’s reality and that’s the scary part. Whether it’s an attempt to capitalize on horrific tragedies or lessen them through a gruesome advertisement, the result of school-related gun violence is not fashion nor is it a fad.