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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