Japanese Influencer Kemio Creates T-shirt to Benefit AAPI Community
Kemio, the Japanese influencer, is continuing the #StopAsianHate conversation via a T-shirt collaboration.
Kemio has partnered with Private Policy and Uprisers on the creation of a T-shirt, the proceeds from which will be donated to nonprofit Hate Is a Virus. The shirt, $30, will be sold via Uprisers’ website.
“I wanted to use my platform to raise awareness to the community,” Kemio told WWD via phone. The shirt design incorporates a flower, the type of which he did not specify, that his grandparents would keep in their home in Japan.
The significance of the shirt, said Siying Qu, Private Policy’s cofounder, is “respect for the AAPI community.”
“We think fashion has a responsibility to be a part of this, to spread this to a people-to-people level, design, marketing, retail production,” Qu said. “It’s important for those who work within the industry to see and feel supported.”
Michelle Hanabusa, founder of Uprisers, said fashion brands are integral to building “a more equitable future. As everyone’s level of awareness is different, people are “in a different place when it comes to activism work,” she said.
