The Problem with Cultural Appropriation

Much like other industries, fashion has seen its designers seek inspiration from beyond their world's, leading to what are often regarded as innovative, unique creations that push the boundaries of modern apparel. This method of creativity, however, can often result in objective offence and accusations of cultural appropriation, only to be enhanced in today’s digital world.

Large players within the fashion industry have caused stirs among communities, resulting in accusations of ignorance and sometimes even racism. High-end designer, Marc Jacobs, experienced a social media uproar after he was accused of cultural appropriation in his 2016 show at New York Fashion Week. A cast of predominantly white models – including the likes of Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Irina Shayk – walked the runway for his spring/summer 2016 collection donning colourful faux dreadlocks.

But what made this case even more controversial was Jacob’s response to the social media backlash escalated when he stated that Rastafarian culture had not been an influence on the collection and that it was in fact inspired by film director Lana Wachowski. He then went on to make matters worse when he said: “…funny how you don’t criticise women of colour for straightening their hair,” and continued by saying: “I don’t see colour, just people.” Due to the negative headlines and increasing disapproval from the general public, Jacobs later backtracked with a statement of apology on his Instagram account.

To many, a piece of someone’s culture – such as dreadlocks to the Rastafarian and wider black community – cannot simply be seen as a hairstyle but must be appreciated as being part of something larger. Dreadlocks are a pivotal part of many people’s self-identity. By dismissing this, Jacobs is somewhat unwittingly attempting to erase the history and context of this culture. By applying the comparison of black women straightening their hair, he is essentially disregarding centuries of the black community having to integrate with the western world as a result of being told that their natural hair is inappropriate and unprofessional. This is made worse with his statement of “I don’t see colour, just people.” As a white American making a throwaway remark like this, Jacobs is disregarding the persecution and inequality that many black people experience on a daily basis. It is easy not to see colour when yours allows you to be favoured by society in almost every aspect of your life. If you live in a world where the colour of your and people’s skin does not have a direct impact on you, then I would argue that you are privileged, not humble.

In a more recent incident, retail giant Zara came under fire for selling a chequered skirt that was compared by consumers to the traditional ‘lungi’, worn by men throughout Southeast Asia. Twitter users were outraged, stating that if Zara is going to profit through Asian culture, they should at least list the item by its original name instead of referring to it as a skirt. Some may see this as clutching at straws, however it is important to note that many of Zara’s factories are based in Asia and just last year the retailer faced huge accusations of underpaying their staff when factory workers left secret notes in the garments reading: “I made this item you are going to buy, but I didn’t get paid for it.”

The idea of a billion dollar company profiting off designs, supposedly taken from Asian culture, while undercutting wages to their Asian factory workers demonstrates how cultural appropriation can be problematic.

Trends in fashion have often been inspired from prominent figures and genres in the music industry; one significant example being Hip-hop. When Hip-hop integrated into popular culture, it gave designers, stylists and celebrities the opportunity to create looks based on a genre of music that originates from black culture. This is why we now see hairstyles such as cornrows and braids on fashion runways and magazines. Popstars and fashion icons such as Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus and Cara Delevingne have taken on trends originating from black culture but presented them as modern and used them as a way of distinguishing themselves as trend setters.

Parallel to issues of cultural appropriation, mass police brutality and persecution towards the black community remains a turbulent social issue. 2013 saw the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement which blasted across the global platform of social media after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who shot and killed African-American teen Trayvon Martin. The movement became wider and more prominent in 2014 after the deaths of two African-Americans: Michael Brown and Eric Garner. As more shootings followed, the movement continued to grow; pushing the issue of police brutality towards the black community into our newspapers and television sets. Issues like this are at the core of the argument against cultural appropriation; privileged white communities taking and profiting from trends based on black culture at the same time as we kill them and deny them the same rights as white people.

It is clear to see why people may take offence to the adoption of their personal identities. However, there is still some confusion and it could be argued that there is a flaw in the overall label of cultural appropriation. The phrase makes the assumption that all cultures are completely original to themselves when, much like the way fashion evolves over time by borrowing inspiration from different countries and societies, cultures do the same. Some could argue that there is no such thing as cultural appropriation because there is no such thing as an original culture. For example, as much as dreadlocks are a representation of Rastafarian culture, they can be dated back as far as the Vikings or even ancient Egyptians, a time when pharaohs wore their hair in dreadlocks. It is almost impossible to put cultures into a set of rigid boxes that encompass only their own unique norms and traditions. It is true that all cultures coexist and therefore, could be argued that all cultures co-create.

Where this argument is flawed, however, is within modern day society; as much as one could argue that we co-exist, it cannot be argued that we do so on an equal footing. When fashion designers and icons adopt trends that are essential parts of black culture, yet refrain from speaking out about issues of racism, or even worse like in the case of Marc Jacobs, completely disregard such issues -or even more insulting, profits off a culture while underpaying the very people born of that culture – this becomes an issue. This portrays the very real message that white people can successfully take anything from BAME communities and profit from it, whilst at the same time robbing them of their own identities, rights and even lives.

Western fashion will always continue to take inspiration from different cultures and by doing so, will continue to evolve. However, while there is such a direct correlation between fashion and social and political movements, it is important for us to continue to do so while celebrating the origins of these trends, as well as standing up against the oppression of those who created them.

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Gender Fluid Fashion and the Androgyny Revolution

Traditionally clothes have been used as a way to identify gender. From the moment we are in our mother’s womb, she is given either pink or blue gifts depending on what she is expecting, through to school uniforms providing summer dresses for girls and blazers and shirts for boys, even in many jobs the work uniform that you are provided with categorises men into wearing a shirt and tie while other employers state that all women must wear high heels as a requirement for the role.

But fashion is fighting back. With the likes of Kanye West making skirts an essential part of his wardrobe and Jaden Smith modelling for Louis Vuitton in a dress, it seems the lines of these neat little boxes set out for us by previous generations are becoming increasingly blurred. It’s not just the clothes either; last year the world welcomed the idea of the first gender-flued model to walk on an Indian runway – Petr Nitka participated in the Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2017, bringing with them a huge sense of empowerment and social progression to the LGBTQ community.

So, what has sparked this sea change that is making tidal waves across the apparel industry? Fashion is never just created, it is born from social, economic, environmental and political movements. Much like the punk subculture brought to us through the frustrations many were feeling about the middleclass hypocrisy and neglect of working people struggling to survive, this gender-neutral trend can be tracked back to changes in gender roles and awareness spread by feminist and queer movements – ultimately building a society that is identity flued. Men who traditionally took on the role of the sole bread-winners of the family are now becoming stay at home dads, while we are seeing more women going into highly paid, powerful jobs.

It is important not only to recognise the social changes that have brought about this transformation but also the way in which we communicate. Social media has allowed us to experiment with our clothing and find more diverse ways to style ourselves. The street style culture, catapulted onto the screens of our smartphones and tablets through the power of social media, has not only empowered consumers to become much more accepting of different styles of clothing but has in fact encouraged them to find their own unique identity through what they wear.

Movements towards todays changes date back to the early 1900’s, where arguably the most influential fashion designer of all time, Coco Chanel, reshaped the way that women wore clothes. It was an era of change due to post-war circumstances, where fabrics were difficult to source and the roles of men and women had been drastically shifted. The high-end designer capitalised on this by introducing trousers into women’s fashion which were previously only worn for work. She was also the first designer to inaugurate jersey, a fabric that had largely been used just for men’s underwear – into her collections. This comfortable fabric was a juxtaposition to the uncomfortable corset style clothing that women had previously worn. But of course the most ground-breaking piece to Coco Chanel’s platter of revolutionary styles was the iconic women’s suit. The piece encompassed a collarless boxy wool jacket with braid trim, fitted sleeves and embellished buttons with a complementary slim line skirt. This outfit was ideal for the post-war women of her generation who were embarking on career path's in the male-dominated workplace.

Although it has been more acceptable for women to ignore the boundaries set out by gender in fashion, school uniform is an area in which these rules have remained stringent up until recent years. We are now seeing gendered uniform rules being scrapped by an increasing number of institutions. Schools are going from a ‘boys uniform’ and a ‘girls uniform’ to a ‘skirt uniform’ and a ‘trouser uniform’, allowing students to make their own decisions when it comes to how they identify themselves. This stems from a recognition of students rights who have, in the past, felt that they do not conform to the binary genders.

Recent years have seen big brands pushing the identity boundaries with Urban Decay appointing gender fluid model, Ruby Rose as their ambassador and retail giant, Zara, releasing an ‘ungendered’ line and of course John Lewis sparking controversy by introducing it's ‘gender natural’ children’s line. Even before that, Selfridges launched its Agender space – an area allowing consumers to purchase whatever fashion and beauty products they desired with no ridged guidelines to adhere to. It seems that for a while now, the line between male and female codes has clearly become increasingly extraneous within the industry.

Looking forward we can see that this is not just a gender fluid trend but instead an androgyny revolution. A recent study conducted by trend-forecasting agency J. Walter Thompson Innovation Group, showed that only 44% of Generation Z - the demographic unit born after the millennials - and 54% of millennials were reported shopping for clothing designed specifically for their own gender, pointing to a vast and growing selection of consumers that refuse to play by traditional rules of gender profiling. Androgyny in the fashion industry is a culture change that is here to stay and although some may be hesitant to see it as anything more than a marketing ploy, the social movement that it represents is surely something to be celebrated. As long as we continue to strive for equality outside of the dressing room, there is nothing wrong with continuing to fight the androgyny revolution in one of the most influential industries in the world.