Well, well, well. Aren’t events a bastard eh? Were it not for this week’s events in the UK this might have gone relatively unnoticed – another leisurewear advert courting a kind of ‘dangerwear’ chic.
But attentions have turned to just how aligned certain clothing brands are with the sort of people who firebomb cars and loot shops for, er, more clothes from people like Levi’s, Adidas and Nike.
That’s something that clothing manufacturers are understandably nervous about, but I doubt it will remain that way. Arguably some more prudish types may choose to move away from these brands, but the images of rioters decked out in Adidas and Nike will probably only serve to reinforce their appeal to young hoodlums.
In the meantime though it’s fire-fighting all the way for Adidas and Nike, while Levi’s has firebombed itself in the foot spectacularly with this advert. Clothing brands have aligned themselves with edgy urban imagery. Now the chickens have come to roost.
As for the Charles Bukowski poetry, I’m not convinced a 17-year-old Hackneyite wielding a golf club will relate, but where there’s life there’s hope eh?