The Japanese fashion brand Comme des Garçons practically stole the show at Paris Fashion week when they sent their white male models down the runway wearing braided wigs, with visible lace pulled down over the model’s forehead, covering half of their faces.
They have since apologised for the incident and claim that they were inspired by the Egyptian prince look, but this does not explain the placement of the wig, as it clearly was a deliberate choice to not make it look genuine. Is this a case of cultural appropriation, a publicity stunt or a matter of stylistic choice gone bad?
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Well it depends on how you choose to look at it, as you can argue in every one of their favours. Cultural appropriation is a recurring topic in the fashion industry, and there are probably some specific cases that come to mind, when you hear the term cultural appropriation, but what does it mean exactly? In Oxford Dictionaries it is defined by "The unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society".
But how is this actually seen in practice as a clear case cultural appropriation? Also, where is the line between being inspired from a culture and actually disrespecting the culture by using elements from it, in a negative context?.
If i choose to wear a kimono, which I bought on my vacation in Japan, am I then contributing to performing cultural appropriation, but what if I’m just more comfortable in a kimono, or I thought It would be a great outfit for this birthday that I’m attending. Does this mean we unconsciously always are contributing to cultural appropriation, in one way or another?
This reminds of me of the incident with Kim Kardashian’s shape wear, named Kimono before they had to change the name to Skims, as a result from the accusations of cultural appropriation. The shapewear products itself, had no relation with the kimono name which was in fact only chosen for having kim in it. This means that you can’t even use words from another culture, without receiving accusations of cultural appropriation.
What about when H&M were accused of racism as they dressed a dark-skinned boy in a shirt, with the text Coolest monkey in the jungle resulting in The Weeknd dropping their collaboration. I mean there are hundreds if not thousands of examples such as these, and It makes you wonder if some of these companies are just that ignorant that they didn’t even see the resemblance or issue to begin with, or if they are just doing it as a publicity stunt, and if so aren’t they damaging their brand more than actually gaining after such a incident. But let’s not forget, that all publicity is better than none publicity, right?
Removed image from H&M website
With this in mind, let’s get back to the Cdg stunt at Paris fashion week. As a well-known and established high fashion brand, Comme des Garçons does not lack attention from the public eye. With Rei Kawakubo leading the way, they are known for their avant-garde choices and ideas, which leads me to believe that the braids incident wasn’t a publicity stunt, as much as a bold fashion statement, made with good intentions and their own artistic touch of it, which the audience clearly weren’t ready for.
Fashion is a way to express yourself through clothing, by finding inspiration from different items and cultures. You should be able to find your own style and identity, especially in a industry known for not having limits or boundaries, as it simply kills the creativity. As a true artist, you should not limit yourself to please the audience and increase sale rapports. And isn’t there an old saying, if your art is not offending anyone, you are not doing it right?
It seems that cultural appropriation is more about the tradition from a culture, and to stay within that frame and meaning of it. It doesn’t matter If you trying to use it in a positive or negative context other from its original meaning, someone will find it offensive, and interpret it as a act of disrespect of the tradition and culture. This makes me wonder will there ever come a time where you can express yourself freely without the fear and possibility of being accused of racism or cultural appropriation? What do you think?
Sources
Evans, S. (28. January 2020). essence. Hentet fra https://www.essence.com/hair/comme-des-garcons-racist-wigs/
Hoskins, T. E. (2014). Is Fashion Racist? I Stitched Up (s. 128-147). London: Pluto Press.
Stack, L. (8. January 2018). Nytimes. Hentet fra https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/08/business/hm-monkey.html
theweek. (20. January 2020). Hentet fra theweek.com: https://www.theweek.co.uk/cultural-appropriation
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