Update 12/19: Forever 21 issued a statement apologizing for the brands mishap amid backlash over the brand’s Wakanda-themed sweater, which has since been removed from the site. “Forever 21 takes feedback on our products and marketing extremely seriously,” the brand explained. “We celebrate all superheroes with many different models of various ethnicities and apologize if the photo in question was offensive in any way.”
Black Panther‘s monumental impact at the box office was felt across the world with fans showing up in droves to screenings of the film in their best African-inspired get-ups when it first hit theaters in February. As expected, the merch followed suit like the genius Wu-Tang Clan-inspired Wakanda logo or the Black Panther-themed costumes that flooded timelines this Halloween.
However, popular fast-fashion retailer Forever 21 missed the mark with its attempt at Black Panther merch and outraged Black Twitter when fans caught wind of a white man modeling a Wakanda Fair Isle sweater.
Forever 21
If you jet over to Forever 21’s site to go looking for the $35 sweater it seems to be gone. The sweater still appears in the search results, but once you click it, it directs you back to the site’s homepage. But the damage is already done and naturally, Twitter had feelings:
ELLE.com has reached out to a representative for the brand for further comment and will update this post when we receive word.
