Cultural Appropriation

Cultural Appropriation, a controversial topic that has been swirling around the fashion industry for almost three decades. Appropriation is when members of a dominant culture incorporates elements of an oppressed minority culture into that dominant culture. This becomes an issue when minority groups do not have a say or are not recognized for the designs created based off of those cultures. These elements used by the dominant culture often become distorted or used to mock or to attribute to the negative stereotypes already misportrayed by society. A line is drawn where cultural assimilation meets appropriation when cultural elements are portrayed out of original context and the meaning is lost. Many times however critics state it's just the

A curator at the New York branch of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and a Navajo tribal member, Kathleen Ash-Milby put her two cents on the topic, "As far as drawing inspiration, I don't think we can say that anything is wrong about being inspired by Native art and expression. I think the issue is when things are copied to such a degree that it is very very apparent that this is not [the designer's] idea. It still has a very strong association with a community which is the originator, and that should be acknowledged.(Lyden)” An example of this exploitation was when DKNY designer Donna Karan copied Seminole tribal patchwork creations and did not credit the Seminoles even after she was asked come forward and apologize, she still stated she was the only creative force behind the designs. These unauthorized occurrences where elements of an oppressed culture were used or the designs involving a particularly sensitive topic is when cultural appropriation becomes offensive. Brands such as Anthropologie and Free People have used Seminole patterns as well, some designers have even incorporated religious totem poles into their

Cherry Picking, or only choosing certain elements of a culture, contributes to the Cultural Appropriation issue. On this issue, the performer Nicki Minaj elaborated,“If you want to enjoy our culture and our lifestyle, bond with us, dance with us, have fun with us, rap with us, then you should also want to know what affects us, what is bothering us, what we feel is unfair to us. You shouldn’t not want to know that. (Avins)’’ Cherry-picking culture is a missed opportunity to make world changing progress, society should want to understand a culture on more than just an aesthetic level so its fully understood. Another example of this was when a Monet painting, La Japonaise, was showcased in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts along with blonde wigs and reproduction kimonos. Kimonos usually show images of nature which have very complex levels of meaning that people do not fully comprehend, so they wear an article of clothing without grasping the idea behind