The Duke Hates Guns

The set of shirts above pretty much tell you all you need to know about my initial decision to start Duke & Winston. Each shirt comes from several of the top names in the streetwear apparel industry. The "guns on a shirt" trend has been around for a while and I find it completely mental. I've always been curious to know how clothing labels justify selling stuff like this given the dire state of things in most major cities in the U.S.

The sad thing is that as gun related crimes get worse in cities (like here in Killadelphia) the more streetwear brands compete to see who can put more guns/brass knuckles/knives on clothing.

Another sad reality is that the people who eat this garbage up for the most part grew up nowhere near neighborhoods plagued by gun violence....typically some hipster/Kanye West wannabe wearing a shirt with an AK 47 on it and a slogan like "Shoot Shit" because its somehow the sickest shirt/hoodie out.

There are too many people in our cities that have to live in the worst conditions and I think it is disrespectful and demeaning to glorify the very things that they live in fear of every single day.

I expect people to know better and with Duke & Winston, I decided to make stuff for people that do.