When a Boston Celtics reporter went viral last May for referring to the New York Knicks as “cockroaches,” the comment was intended as a slight. But for many fans, it landed differently – less an insult, and more an unintended source of motivation and pride inspired by the indestructible insects.
The unignorable stunt (couldn’t be called anything else) builds on a simple cultural truth – cockroaches can’t be killed. They adapt, persist, and outlast. For a true New York fan, that feels familiar.Because if there’s one thing New York understands, it’s survival.
Leaning into that idea, Uncommon Creative Studio introduced ROACHCOAT, a conceptual fashion piece that turns the nickname into something physical. The garment is a transparent puffer jacket filled with live, hissing New York City cockroaches, designed to be worn as a badge of honour rather than embarrassment.
The project was timed to coincide with New York’s April 9 matchup against the Celtics. ROACHCOAT reframes the narrative around the team, amplifying a throwaway insult to reclaim pride and power.
Visually, the piece draws from the language of ’90s New York streetwear editorials, pairing the jacket with a fictional team identity, the New York Cockroaches. Every detail was considered. There’s a custom logo and the tagline, You Can’t Kill What Won’t Quit, extending the coat from a single object into something closer to a world of defiance. A curated collection of drop-worthy merch – tees, hats, stickers and more – is available online for true New York fans who want to rep the spirit beyond the jacket.
Imagery of the coat quickly spread across social. As with much of Uncommon’s work, the intention is geared toward participation – creating something people can rally around, reinterpret, and carry forward. It’s a shared laugh with New York, and the 10M million people who call it home.
ROACHCOAT follows a run of culturally driven projects from Uncommon, including PAIN (2025), the no-win claw machine that became a New York Fashion Week phenomenon, and Ratboot (2024), a viral reworking of an everyday city icon. Each project starts from observation – something small, specific, and often overlooked – and builds into something larger. Together, they form a series of evolving love letters to New York, using the city as both subject and playground. With ROACHCOAT, that exploration expands beyond fashion into fandom and diversifies further how the work shows up in culture.
Note from Uncommon:
We recognise that using live animals in any context raises important questions around welfare and ethics. ROACHCOAT was developed in close collaboration with a professional roach handler to ensure the insects were treated humanely at all times, with careful attention to their safety, comfort, and survival throughout. No cockroaches were harmed in the making or presentation of the piece and the project is intended as a symbolic, respectful nod to their resilience, not exploitation.
