Why Does the Fashion Industry Excuse Cultural Appropriation?

Art by Francesca Polistina

The world of high fashion is wide and wavering: where there are brilliant displays of innovation and artistry walking one runway, a culturally distasteful one (that’s guised as the former) walks another. Cultural appropriation is not a new issue in fashion, in fact, it is ingrained in every corner of globalized society. It’s important to call out creatives who inappropriately take from cultures, so an understanding can be set that it is unacceptable in the industry. This year’s Paris Fashion Week featured a Comme des Garçons FW ‘20 menswear show that caused predictable uproar on social media, but received praise rather than criticism from the few fashion publications that sit on the top of the pack (on adorned thrones no less), Vogue and Women's Wear Daily (WWD).

Comme des Garçons, headed by founder and designer Rei Kawakubo, sent non-black models down the runway in braided wigs that resembled traditionally black hairstyles, while the few black models that were hired wore their natural hair. Immediately, fashion Twitter erupted with accusations of cultural appropriation, saying the brand is using a culture that is not connected to the designer or the brand for selfish, aesthetic purposes. Comme des Garçons swiftly put out a statement of apology.

“The inspiration for the headpieces for Comme des Garçons menswear FW '20 show was the look of an Egyptian prince. It was never ever our intention to disrespect or hurt anyone—we deeply and sincerely apologise for any offense it has caused.”

Darnell Jamal, fashion historian and co-host of the Fashion Victims podcast, discussed the incident in an episode, saying the supposed references to Egyptian royalty were plainly inaccurate. 

“Those braids don’t even look anywhere close to what an actual Egyptian wig was… These look more like Fuloni braids,” which is a West African style—not Egyptian. “It just looks like it wasn’t well researched and it’s inappropriate,” says Jamal. “This is what gets black people mad.” 

Comme des Garcons wouldn’t be in such hot water if they consulted with black creatives and allowed them to collaborate in representing their own culture. Julien d’Y, Comme’s hairstylist, posted on Instagram in response to the uproar, insisting that his styling was meant as an homage to Egyptian dress, and he meant no offense. While this is a long-debated topic, white people are simply not qualified to decide whether or not a hairstyle is appropriate, especially if they don’t do their homework on the culture they are “paying homage” to. 

The coverage of the collection from premier publications such as Vogue Runway and WWD appeared to avoid the issue entirely. Vogue describes the styling as, “a sense of mad, manic, innocent fun,” referring to the “odd braided wigs [that] were set low on foreheads.” The renowned magazine praises Rei Kawakubo for her “knack for channeling the energy of youth through her Homme Plus shows,” which refers to the colorful urban elements of the collection. The fashion industry tends to use words like “youthful” and “urban” to describe culturally black aesthetics, which works as a cop out to excuse them from accountability. 

WWD praises the collection even more. “In less expert hands, the collection would have been a head-spinning mess, but Kawakubo transformed the chaos into something sophisticated, thought provoking and elegant.” As WWD explains the collection, they compare models to Cleopatra in their “pharoanic bobs.” 

“Indeed, hair played big in this show,” the article continues. “With long wigs cascading from models’ necks and down their chests, adding an air of primitive chic.”

The choice to publish “primitive chic” is quite jarring, as it could be perceived as a backhanded racial remark. The weight that WWD holds in the industry should prompt their writers and editors to be more responsible than this. 

While younger fashion professionals stay vocal about their concerns, “cancel culture” proves ineffective because fashion bibles like Vogue and WWD don’t care. Even Harper’s Bazaar released their March 2020 cover featuring Kylie Jenner who is dripping in Dolce and Gabbanna, a brand that is unapologetic about cultural appropriation, racism, and homophobia. 

The magazines that people in fashion look to for reliable high fashion news and educated commentary need to also speak on the mistakes that designers make. It feels as though industry insiders who’ve reached a particular status do not care about socially unjust practices, or they can’t be bothered to stick their neck out to defend others. The politics of the fashion industry seem to reign, as highly influential people and organizations turn the other cheek to avoid ruffling feathers.