Timberland has cut ties with the French fashion label APC after its recalcitrant founder, Jean Touitou, used a racially offensive word at a presentation in Paris.
Touitou used the term while showing the label’s autumn/winter collection, holding up a sign saying “Last Ni##@$ IN PARIS” after the name of a song by Jay-Z and former APC collaborator, Kanye West.
Showing camel coats and grey tracksuit bottoms worn with Timberland boots, he told the assembled press: “I call this one look Last Niggas 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 Niggas in Paris and Last Niggas in Paris.” After an awkward pause and a few hesitant laughs he added: “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 …”
Touitou moved to explain his language after the show, telling Style.com: “I am friends with Kanye, and he and I presented a joint collection at the same place, one year ago, and that this thing is only homage to our friendship. 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.’”
Nevertheless, on Wednesday Timberland’s president Stewart Whitney issued a statement: “Yesterday we became aware of the offensive remarks made by Jean Touitou during his APC Fall Menswear show in Paris. We have chosen to immediately terminate our involvement with the APC brand, including the footwear collaboration we had planned for this fall. Simply stated, this kind of language and approach is in complete contrast with our values. Timberland seeks to collaborate with designers and brands who are at the forefront of lifestyle trends; equally important, they must also share our values. We will not tolerate offensive language or racial slurs of any kind being associated with the Timberland brand.”
APC is one of the fashion industry’s most influential non-catwalk brands and has found huge success with its simple, androgynous clothes and trend-free approach to design. The label’s rebellious Tunisian-French designer is famed for eschewing PR spin (“If people only knew what actresses are paid to sit in the front row at the shows in Milan or Paris, they would want to kill somebody,” is a typical statement). Usually, journalists lap it up and enjoy the ride. This week’s comments seem a lot more ill-judged.
On Thursday, Touitou issued an apology, saying: “When describing our brand’s latest collaboration, I spoke recklessly, using terms that were both ignorant and offensive. I apologise and am deeply regretful for my poor choice of words, which are in no way a reflection of my personal views.”
• This article was amended on 29 January to include a statement from Jean Touitou.
