Cultural appropriation has been a growing controversy

in the fashion industry over the last fifteen years.

One of the top ten issues in the fashion world today is

cultural appropriation.

Fatima KhanMinor Hackin ‘16

Cultural AppropirationThroughout the years

In the fashion industry

Research

Question

Project Execution

Final Resulte

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“Cultural appropriation is the adopti-on or use of the elements of one culture by members of another culture. Cultural appropriation may be perceived as con-troversial or harmful, notably when the cultural property of a minority group is used by members of the dominant cul-ture without the consent of the members of the originating culture. This is seen as misappropriation and a violation of intel-lectual property rights.”

- Wikipedia

Some say that cultural appropriation highlights the imbalance that re-mained between those who are empowered and those who are histo-rically appressed. This start along time ago when in 1950’s white mu-sicians so called “borrowed” the musical styles of the black musicians because of the intense level of racism African-Americans weren’t wildly accepted by the society. Records executives would have white recording artists replicate the original sound and style of the black musicians. This led to musical forms such as Rock & Roll being largely associated to white musicians in spite of the fact that black musicians pioneered this art form.

In the late 21st century cultural appropriation remains a concern. This kind of appropriation remained visible in other art forms like dancing. Madonna for instance popularized the form of personal expression as “voguing” which began in the black and Latino sectors in the gay community. To this day people associating “voguing” originating with Madonna and in 2013 Miley Cyrus became the popstar most associ-ated with cultural appropriating when she began twerking on screen. Twerking is a dance style which is been in the African - American com-munity for over decades. Black women were more often shammed for this form of dancing and often called ghetto but it was called “cool and sexy” when Miley Cyrus began twerking. When the dominant group appropriates this is seen as “innovative and edgy” while the disadvanta-ge group continue to face negative backlash.

Cultural appropriation is interpreted in our society in many ways; de-signers and trendsetters call this inspiration and homage to a culture. There are different sides to this discussion and some are not pleased by this way of appropriation art. Discussions about cultural appropriation is mainly conducted online. This is the platform where creators, ma-kers, viewers and commentators come together and discuss topic such as cultural appropriation. These discussions are not always fair to both sides and over the year’s this has been causing a lot of tension between designers and cultural societies. Words like “ignorance and cultural in-sensitivity” are often used when expressing feelings about cultural ap-propriation.

In the fashion industry culture appropriation has been one of the main issues for the last fifteen years’. Fashion designers and houses are “inspi-red” by many different cultures. This became an issue when patterns of borrowing fail to acknowledge and compensate the sources and origin of their inspiration. Celebrities and designers are the trendsetters and influencers in the fashion industry and have a platform to educate. But unfortunately, many of these people fail to use their influence.

Here are some examples of designer and celebraties that use other cul-tures as “inspiration”.GIVENCHY FALL 2015; Riccardo Tisci’s “Victorian Cholas” inspired both criticism and appreciation when he presented the Givenchy fall 2015 collection in March. In addition to oversized and bejewelled faux facial piercings, the models were styled with curled, slick baby hairs along the hairline — a look lifted from Black and Latina subcultures that many also now associate with FKA Twigs and that popped up last year at DKNY. And while Givenchy’s model casting wasn’t as diverse as it could have been (a statement applicable to basically everything in fashion and in life) it wasn’t as bad as, say, Valentino’s spring 2016 collection spurred the most discussion about the merits or faults of its chosen theme: “wild, tribal Africa.” Ah yes, that Africa. The clothing itself — which featured tribal motifs, detailed knitting, embroidery, sa-fari prints, feathers and more textures — was deemed very beautiful by most reviews while criticism focused on the casting and the cornrows. Fewer than 10 black models walked the runway and everyone wore cornrow buns. If designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli weren’t aware of the political connotations of the hairstyle before, they definitely are now.

Cultural Appropriation Cultural Appropriation

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Sources- https://www.fashionista.com

Other designers like the Brazilian sportswear brand called Osklen by Oskar Metsavath is showing how it could be done right and both par-ties benefit from a collaboration. He is an artist that gets inspiration by the colours and materials not just a cultural tourist or a collector. His collection inspired by the Amazonian tribe shows a big transformation through his high-end clothing line. His relation with the tribe shows commitment and appreciation. The tribe receives royalty from the sales of the clothes. The tribes’ leader feels that is a great way to help share their environment massage with a much wider audience through this Osklen collection.

The reason I find cultural appropriation interesting because I have a cultural background. Where we have symbols and traditions that are sacred, these distinguishes and defines us. At the same time as a fashion student I have to opportunity to speak my mind through designing clothing and creating other forms of art. I am very interested in other cultures and their attires and often traditional details are visible in my work without being insensitive. This puts me in a position where I can observe and research this topic from a both points of view.

For this project I asked my self the question; where lies the (thin) line between inspiration and appropriation? I research on how inspiration and appropriation could be distinguished from each other. Through out the years some really simple rules have been made to make this a bit clearer for the ones that want to use cultural inspiration; - Blackface is never okay - It’s important to pay homage to artistry and ideas, and acknowledge their origins - Don’t adopt sacred artefacts as accessories - Remember that culture is fluid - Don’t forget that appropriation is no substitute for diversity - Engage with other cultures on more than an aesthetic level - Treat a cultural exchange like any other creative collaboration; Give credit, and consider royalties

Many articles and books have been written about the difference between inspiration and appropriation. Some by professionals such as Susan Scafidi; a professor at Fordham Law School, founder of the non-profit Fashion Law Institute, and the author of Who Owns Culture? Appro-priation and Authenticity in American Law. In which she examines the issue of group authorship and intellectual property, with particular at-tention to cultural appropriation in American life. With questions like; why there is legal protection for literature but no legal protection for folklore? And why can country-music writer demand royalties from performers they never met, while an Appalachian folk musician can-not. The bits and pieces that I have read of this book shows the hierarc-hy of American cultural values.

Cultural Appropriation Research

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Sources- https://www.theatlantic.com

For this project I collaborated with a computer programmer with a graphic design background. I though I would be interesting to work with someone with a different discipline. Together we created a pro-gram that generates new compositions of images. To take it a step fu-rther we decided that I would be interesting to turn it in to something that would reflect on the fashion industry. Through out the process it became more and more a collection of images and texts. Then I decided to turn it to a fashion magazine that consists of only covers. This would reflect on the thin line between inspiration and appropriation in the fashion industry.

I continued on selecting over one-hundred images that are specifically selected in contrast to each other. As the the images and texts come to-gether they become one and portray different discussions on hairstyles, symbols, patterns, silhouettes and much more.

I edited these images in Photoshop by deleting specific parts of the ima-ge to make it see through so the other layers of images would become visible. I didn’t want it to be about the model on the cover by deleting the faces and highlighting the styling and the look.

From the different articles I read, I selected few words from each to use that as headlines on the magazine. I chose titles like vogue, teen-vo-gue and Elle for this magazine. These magazines titles are more about trends and people look up to it because it is the most famous fashion magazine. And as contrast I had ID, which is about diversity and diffe-rence and more open about subjects like culture.

With these magazine cover I wanted to show both sides of the discus-sion and offering new prospects that might lead to new insights. I am satisfied with the end result of the project because it is a quit direct way of communication and opening up a discussion where people can sha-re and educate each other. Of course there is space for improvement, I would want to improve the content more so that it speaks out even more directly. The sidebar texts could be more diverse and contain titles for both sides of the discussion. This process has been an interesting one because I had put my personal opinion aside and opened up to see the different points of view. I want to continue working on the magazine covers and maybe in the future I could even start an online magazine.

I would like to read the whole book because it seems very interesting and differently an addition to my knowledge about cultural appropria-tion.

YouTube contains various videos with different opinions and views on cultural appropriation. I watched many of these videos to measure and compare thoughts on this topic. What struck me was that many of these videos are alike and discussing the same subjects with the same facts. Sadly, there are also many videos (vlogs) that ridicule this topic but also enough vlogs about facts and the real truth about how you could avoid appropriation and use cultural inspiration the right way. Amandla Sten-berg; the actress raised attention with her vlog “Don’t Cash Crop On My Cornrows”. Here she explains how and why black hair is a certain way in a very simple explanation. What she is doing is educating people while not directly attacking anyone. There are more examples like this on the internet. I find it important for people to hear each others opi-nions and talk about the real problems like what cultural appropriation is doing to our societies and communities. People are choosing sides and being divided. This has and will cause more tension and problems between the makers and viewers.

With this question in mind I wanted to create something which could start a dialog between people to discus each others point of views. It is important for me to start a conversation about sensitive subjects and educate people. Although there is already enough talk about this topic, I feel that some people still are looking at this from one perspective. Even if I would not directly change people’s minds but to make people conscious about this topic is enough for now.

ProjectResearch

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Sources- https://www.youtube.com- https://www.amazon.com

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