The gray Balenciaga sweatpants, which feature what looks like the top of a pair of boxers peeking out from the waistband, sparked controversy after a TikTok user posted a brief video on September 2 of the pants at what appeared to be a store.
"This feels racist," one individual said on the video posted by Tiktok user @mr200m__ as they grabbed the Trompe-L'Oeil pants. "They've woven the boxers inside the trouser."
Marquita Gammage, an associate professor of Africana Studies at California State University, Northridge, was also disturbed by the Balenciaga item and what she sees as its exploitation of "Black culture with the hopes of securing major profits."