ROACHCOAT Reclaims ‘Cockroach’ Insult as New York Symbol of Survival

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 as an insult, and more as an unintended source of motivation and pride inspired by the indestructible insects.

Because if there’s one thing New York understands, it’s survival.

Leaning into that idea, Uncommon Creative Studio has 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.

Timed to coincide with New York’s April 9th matchup against the Celtics, ROACHCOAT reframed the narrative around the team, amplifying a throwaway insult to reclaim pride and power. The project was built on a simple cultural truth: cockroaches can’t be killed. They adapt, persist, and outlast. For a true New York fan, that feels familiar.

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. Complete with a custom logo and the tagline 'You Can’t Kill What Won’t Quit,' the system extends the idea beyond a single object into something closer to a world of defiance. A curated collection of drop-worthy merch–tees, hats, stickers and more–will also be 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 moves into the sports arena, expanding beyond fashion into fandom and further diversifying how the work shows up in culture.