Culture has always been the result of a group's efforts, activities and world view and has always been influenced by other cultures in a bigger or smaller proportion.
Borrowing from a culture other than your own has been called "cultural appropriation" and in recent years, this phenomenon has raised powerful debates in the metaphorical global public square. The fashion world has been the object of debate when it comes to cultural appropriation more times than one.
It seems that in recent years, every time a designer uses ethnic clothes as inspiration, a magazine creates a cover featuring traditional accessories or there is an exhibition that focuses on a certain culture, words such as "insensitivity" and "racism" are thrown around.
If put under a microscope, it seems that the arguments some people bring is that, if you want to make use of an element that is not part of the culture from which you originate, it should have a "hands off" policy. In other words, people own culture.
Any appropriation is considered by some an act of racism.
Once you see things in this way, you can only wonder: "How does that work" and "How does that make sense?"
Of course, following a logical stream of thought, one can dismiss these arguments from the start. Enjoying a certain aspect of a culture and appropriating it to your own experience is anything but racist. It can be said that cultural appropriation is in most cases cultural appreciation.
As with any Social Justice Warrior's thoughts and views, the original intention behind a thought or claim is a good one. Taking an element from a culture and mocking it is an insensitive action that can hurt feelings. This is why; religious elements should be generally not be appropriated that easily. However, when it comes to everything else, there is a huge difference between being celebratory about an element and being offensive.
Let's take a look at some examples. If you enjoy wearing a sherwani, but are not Indian or even remotely Asian, how is that hurting an Indian man? If you love African necklaces because of their great colors and decide to wear one to a special event, how is that offensive to African people? And thirdly, if you love rap music and dreadlocks but are not black, how is that offensive to black people?
Offense should be taken only and only when someone's intentions are to mock or ridicule one's culture.
In this spirit, offense should not be taken when someone makes their own something someone from a different culture created. In the end, culture is not an infantile part of life, where the person who "did it first" gets to have ownership of "it".
Most people fail to realize that seeing the world in this light is actually an act of racism itself, as it proposes a world where each person "should stay with their own".
And, in the end, as we said in the beginning, culture is all about the meeting point of visions, ideas and lifestyle.
Fraquoh and Franchomme
P.S. We want to hear from you! On which side of the debate do you stand on cultural appropriation in fashion? What has your experience with cultural appropriation been? Do you pay homage to ideas and artistry that belongs to a culture different from the one you've been born in? Share your feedback, questions or thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on style, fashion tips and cultural insights, you can subscribe to Attire Club via e-mail or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!
