Culture Is Not a Fashion Statement

Isabella Chan, Assistant News Editor

Cultural appropriation has become a trend, like fanny packs and flare pants, in the fashion industry among many brands. By endorsing offensive stereotypes in their work, these prominent companies are making racism acceptable.

This “trend” has been at it for years. What was once before called a mistake is no longer ignorance woven into a sequin jacket. It is blatant racism. We live in a time where everyone is aware of how racism impacts people and to create work that disgraces culture can no longer be ignored.

To see such high-level fashion companies and well-known brands continue to produce advertisements and products that represent a poor image is unfortunate in this day and age.

From Gucci’s overemphasized lip black knit top to Prada’s monkey keychains, “blackface” has become one of the more repetitive images in clothing. Some fashion shows have even gone as far as to paint their white models’ faces with brown or black makeup down the catwalk.

To attempt to create a fashion statement using ethnic skin colors and physical features is dehumanizing. A person’s identity is not intended to be stylish. 

Many cultures have been exploited by designers on many levels. In 2012, Victoria Secret model Karlie Kloss received backlash for wearing a full Native American headdress on the catwalk along with a set of lingerie.

By trying to “honor” the Native American culture, Victoria’s Secret sexualized and disgraced the headdress and its symbolic history of bravery and high level of respect.

The same incident occurred when Dolce & Gabbana ran an advertisement in November of 2018 of a Chinese woman eating a pizza with chopsticks. This resulted in people, including actors, boycotting their products and the company canceling their fashion show in China.

To see that any of these ideas made it to production is ludacris. Those in power should be considering how they choose to portray cultures and races, especially if it may come off as demeaning.

For H&M to be able to release an advertisement of a young black boy wearing a hoodie saying “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” means there has to be an issue on all levels of the fashion industry. From the creative teams to the CEO, changes need to be made.

Through diversity and understanding, cultural appropriation can be avoided. Allowing a diverse group of people to help in the decision-making process can lead to various opinions and viewpoints. The mixture of people can help to avoid problematic ideas and create a well-rounded outcome of ads and products.

Yet, more diversity does not mean inclusivity. No matter how much understanding there is within the staff, it all comes down to the highest person in power.

Leadership plays a pivotal role in what makes the cut on the vision board, and if fashion designers and CEO of clothing companies are not conscious of the message they send with their work, trouble is likely to follow suit.

Some companies have attempted to save themselves from the attacks of cultural appropriation through public apologies and withdrawing their products from their lines. Prada has even gone as far to create a Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council which will be co-chaired by famous film director Ava DuVernay and activist artist Theaster Gates.

Although the creation of the council shows how problematic the fashion industry is – people really can’t make a keychain without it being racist? – changes like this will hopefully lead to smarter decisions.

Hopefully, there won’t be anymore racially insensitive ads or products being made anytime soon.