Aussie Trio Turn Kanye Merch Into Yarmulkes

Aussie Trio Turn Kanye Merch Into Yarmulkes

Three Australians turned Yeezy-branded trainers into Jewish skullcaps to send a message about the rapper’s anti-Semitism.

Sydney-based writer and artist Antoinette Barbouttis had previously been a big Kanye fan and had purchased “countless” items from the rapper including a dozen pairs of trainers.

However, after Kanye’s outbursts last year, she changed her mind on her the rapper.

“I was done. As soon as it was anti-Semitism, I thought, that’s next level-kind of dangerous, I’m not into that,” she told SBS.

Speaking to her Jewish filmmaker and writer friend John Safran, he suggested repurposing the items.

“I was planning to never wear them again, but then I went to John and I said, ‘you’re Jewish, you could tell me what I could do with this stuff’ … but then John came up with the idea of turning it into a yarmulke.”

The pair worked with costume tailor Chrissy Seo to make the yarmulkes in time for Safran to host a multicultural comedy gala last week.

“You’re not even breaking our spirit. We’re responding with some weird kind of Jewish self-deprecation by saying, no, we’re here, we’re not tucking in our Stars of David, just because there are spells of anti-Semitism and people are trying to intimidate us into hiding,” Safran said.

It took Seo two weeks to create three yarmulkes from sweatshirts and a pair of trainers. Barbouttis is considering selling the yarmulkes and donating a portion of the profits to the Jewish community.

“If Kanye ends up liking them, that is my success because if he likes them enough that he can get past all the political stuff that means my art has done its job,” said Seo.

Lead image credit: SBS/ Antoinette Barbouttis




Please login with linkedin to comment

Kanye West

Latest News

Enjoy A Hahn Solo… And May The Fourth Be With You
  • Campaigns

Enjoy A Hahn Solo… And May The Fourth Be With You

This May the fourth Hahn will celebrate alongside Star Wars fans rewarding their passion via a giant Hahn travelling solo through the sky. It’s the one day of the year when all sci-fi fans rejoice and giggle to themselves and Hahn in partnership with Thinkerbell, UM and Affinity is celebrating with an out of this […]