Scroll through Instagram during festival season and what do you see? Cultural appropriation. Kylie Jenner as a person? Cultural appropriation. Do you have no idea what I’m talking about? It’s okay, neither do the individuals who wear things from another person’s culture and neglect the fact that it’s something sacred, not a fashion statement.
There is a fine line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation. Take New York Fashion Week, for example. It’s supposed to be a week full of designs created by the most well-known fashion designers on the planet. Fashion designers create pieces that spark a person’s interest, based on the patterns, textures, or fabrics he or she uses for their collection. The headlines for fashion week shouldn’t be focused on designers using someone else’s culture as a statement piece, but rather the unique style each designer creates.
The Marc Jacobs show portrayed colorful dreadlocks on top of predominately white models’ heads. It sparked outrage throughout social media outlets such as Twitter and Instagram. Rightfully so, as in our society dreadlocks are often thought of as unprofessional, dirty, and ghetto. Just because white models wear the dreads does not make it “boho chic.”
There is nothing chic about black people being oppressed and shamed for their dreadlocks. The dreads created for the Marc Jacobs show were from a woman named Lana Wachowski. Lana hand-dyed the 12,500 pieces of wool locks, which she borrowed from black culture for the use of creativity. Marc Jacobs borrowed black culture for a fashion statement. The problem is that no one sees this as borrowing. There is no acknowledgement of the history of the culture that dreadlocks come from, and that’s where Marc Jacobs and so many others go wrong.
Still haven’t caught onto what cultural appropriation is? Take Kylie Jenner for example… she oozes it. From cornrows to the do-rag she wore to New York Fashion Week, Kylie Jenner has a habit of borrowing from black culture and then having millions of Kylie fans praising her for the new style she “created.” She is not a trendsetter; she is taking something that is looked down upon and making it look good because of her privileged status. Kylie doesn’t give the culture she takes her styles from any credit. Not once has she recognized that her cornrows, do-rag, big lips, and basically her whole aesthetic originate from black culture. That’s the problem and the root of all the backlash given to those who appropriate culture.