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It is pretty striking that ethnicity is a trend that comes and goes over the years; from Oriental to African elements to objects from Native American or South American traditions, the catwalks are peppered year in and year out with references and, on many occasions, ill-formulated mixtures of elements from other cultures. Moreover, not only the top fashion houses suffer from this intermittent ‘exotic’ fever. Music artists, influencers and the world of cinema also display a wide range of striking behaviours in this respect: modifying their appearance to look like a black person, for example, darkening their skin or white actors and actresses playing characters of other races (see the case of Scarlett Johanson in Ghost in the Shell, Emma Stone in Aloha or Tilda Swinton in Doctor Strange) are some unfortunate examples.

Cultural appropriation was one of those issues that emerged in the early 2010s. The World Intellectual Property Organisation defined it as ‘the act by which a member of a relatively dominant culture makes use of a traditional cultural expression and reuses it in a different context, without authorisation, mention of its origin or compensation for its use, thereby causing harm to the possessor(s) of the traditional cultural expression’. In other words, using an element of an ethnic group or tribe in a situation of greater oppression than your own for a purely aesthetic purpose, stripping it of all meaning. An example would be the dreadlocked or braided hairstyles of racialised people as part of their claim against the oppressive white, straight-haired beauty. Depending on who you ask, cultural appropriation can be simple ignorance, thoughtlessness or a way to continue perpetuating a white, Eurocentric and, in most cases, a hetero-patriarchal system of power. Some people find it silly, a woke concept that does nothing more than limit creativity. The truth is that, in most cases, it is best to be guided by a simple principle: if offending someone is a possibility, why do it? In any case, it requires us to reflect, listen to the people we might hurt, and review our behaviour. 

 

Fortunately, fashion houses (and other industries) are increasingly aware of their responsibility or, at least, of the severe harm such a serious blunder can cause them. They are no longer worth the trouble to do things just for show. The key to eradicating cultural appropriation is, as mentioned above, collaboration. Engaging with the tribes or ethnicities that are, in effect, the original creators of the idea that can be so fascinating is the first step towards building a much more inclusive and respectful fashion paradigm.