fashion

The Young Woman Behind Frank Ocean’s New T-Shirt Could Save Us All

Frank Ocean wore Green Box’s t-shirt this weekend at New York City’s Panorama Festival. Photo: Twitter / @deray

Musician Frank Ocean headlined New York City’s Panorama Festival at Randall’s Island Park this weekend wearing a T-shirt with a simple message: “WHY BE RACIST, SEXIST, HOMOPHOBIC, OR TRANSPHOBIC WHEN YOU COULD JUST BE QUIET?”

In today’s political maelstrom, and the news that President Donald Trump wants to ban transgender troops from serving in the Army, just being nice to people might sound like a retro idea from your Methodist grandmother. But it actually comes from astute 18-year-old Kayla Robinson who’s behind the independent clothing brand Green Box Shop founded in 2016. Robinson is based in South Florida and identifies as bisexual and Afro-Latino. According to the company’s website, the shirt, also available in tie-dye, is meant to address “how hate speech will not be tolerated by the ‘tolerant left.’”

“When I couldn’t find any social justice tee shirts online for myself, that really would grab someones attention, I decided to make my own and sell them to raise money to get my yoga teacher certification (Now the ultimate vision is urban farming),” Robinson writes on the site.

Green Box Shop also offers other tees with similarly catchy slogans like: “Roses are red / Doritos are savory / The U.S. prison system is legalized slavery,” “F*ck Donald Trump,” and “Chill With That Misogyny.” (Robinson is pictured modeling her “F*ck Donald Trump” shirt below.)

The shirts, pictured below, retail for about $20 dollars, and can be purchased through Green Box’s website. Robinson has already been inundated with orders — and they are sure to sell quickly.

The Woman Behind Frank Ocean’s New T-Shirt Could Save Us All