AITA for pulling our collab after the retailer tried to “clean up” our message?
Posted by: @noneofusofficial | UK/USA-based brand

Hey Reddit,

We’re NoneOfUsOfficial, an indie fashion label based between London and New York. We design statement streetwear around themes like social rebellion, data privacy, and modern alienation. Every drop tells a story, and we keep things small-batch and raw on purpose—no glossy ads, no fake hype.

A few months ago, we were approached by a well-known mid-size global retailer (let’s just say... they sell “edgy basics” and love a capsule collection). They offered to collaborate on a limited release—five pieces, co-branded, our creative lead, their distribution.

We were cautious, but we said yes. It was a big deal for a brand like ours. We created a line called “System Error”—a dystopian blend of hardware aesthetics, surveillance symbols, and anti-capitalist slogans.

They LOVED the designs. Right up until they didn’t.

Two weeks before launch, their legal team flagged the slogans:

“This Body Is Not Public Property”

“Sell Nothing, Tell Everything”

“Owned by No One, Seen by All”

They said the tone was “too aggressive” for their global stores. They asked us to tone down the language, change the color palette, and remove any reference to protest culture.

We said no.

They offered to still release it if we replaced the slogans with “neutral affirmations.” We pulled the entire collab and released the designs independently on our own site.

Now we’re getting called “ungrateful” and “impossible to work with” by people in the industry. Even some of our fans were disappointed—they were looking forward to grabbing the pieces in-store.

But others backed us, saying we stayed true to the vision.

So now we’re wondering…