Hipsters Want More Flipper
Remember this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rysvQ88eKUw
The Flipper t-Shirt that Kurt Cobain created for himself and donned in support of the band Flipper is now a hot commodity. Not because the band is suddenly making a resurgence in music, but because Kurt Cobain is a trendsetter even after death. Forever 21, who commonly has found themselves embattled with legal issues from designers such as Anna Sui and Diane Von Furstenberg, created their version of Kurt Cobain’s version of the shirt to sell.
This whole story seems to be overblown a bit, and mostly by die-hard Nirvana fans who find it appalling that Forever 21 would use Kurt’s creativity to bolster their bottom line. But let’s not overlook the facts. The picture sketched on the t-shirt that Cobain wore was never copyright protected. And a spokeswoman for Forever 21 said the company has the green-light to sell the shirt through Worn Free, who is also selling the shirt. If anybody should be upset about all of this, it’s the band whose name appears on the shirt - Flipper.
Now obviously this is nothing more than people using the popularity of someone else to make a buck. It’s actually pretty common in today’s society. The backlash comes from the Nirvana fans who don’t want to see Cobain associated with this type of corporate greed, especially since Cobain himself was a fervent anti-corporation guy.
As a Nirvana fan, yes, this irks me a little bit. But am I going to boycott Forever 21? Well, ya actually. Shouldn’t be too hard considering I never even knew they existed until today. But that’s not my point. The people upset about this are probably the same people who were upset when “Journals” came out. And as wrong as it all may be, I actually find the whole thing rather humorous.
The entire appeal of the shirt is that it was handmade. Now people are buying a mass-produced version thinking how cool they are for having something pretending to be handmade when they could have just as easily gone to a store, bought a shirt and a black marker, and made the shirt themselves. Can’t fix stupid.
I would be willing to bet 90% of the people who have bought the shirt don’t even know who Flipper is.
How long before Courtney Love sues Forever 21?
What’s your opinion on this matter? We’d love to hear your feedback!
