CHINATOWN MARKET will change its name after the wave of violence against the Asian community
But does the brand's decision really make sense?
Fashion
March 30th, 2021
March 30th, 2021
Following the growing wave of anti-Asian hate that has erupted in the United States in recent weeks, and its natural response with the Stop Asian Hate movement, CHINATOWN MARKET has announced its plan to change its name almost five years after its foundation. In a long post published on Instagram, the brand founded by Mike Cherman explained that it wanted to do his part, declaring himself ready to contribute to change by working closely with many personalities of the Asian community.
The intention of CHINATOWN MARKET, explained the brand, has always been to unite different communities, a role that in the current situation needs a change of identity, a new name that will be announced in the upcoming months. If the choice made by the brand may certainly seem admirable, on the other hand, it has all the traits of a façade move to wash one's hands of a bigger problem, giving up a name that had very little offensive component, instead of working right away to contribute to a problem that certainly will not find its decisive turning point in the name change of a streetwear brand. If the fanbase seems to have the same concerns, the AAPIP (Asian Americans / Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy) was among the first to raise the ethical question around the brand's name, closely followed by a petition launched on change.org in which CHINATOWN MARKET was asked to change its name, explaining that "the concept of Chinatown is not for sale, especially to a white man who uses the word Chinatown as a synonym for bootleg".
Among the blame given to the brand, there is then that of having remained silent for a long time on the #stopasianhate movement until three days after the Atlanta shooting of last March 16, making too much confusion on two distant topics in which the problems of a community pass from naming a brand, guilty for no apparent reason of being in any way a vehicle of any form of hatred towards the Asian community in the United States. It's undeniable, in light of the requests made by the petition and by the other pressures made to the brand, that the choice of CHINATOWN MARKET is in effect a quick and painless way to wash one's hands, choosing to distance oneself from the problem instead of solving it more decisive, limiting itself to finding a name that doesn't bother anyone and donating the proceeds of its past collections to charity. The simplest solution which, of course, won't help anyone.
