Cultural appropriation can manifest itself in many ways. It involves taking one aspect of a culture that’s not your own and using it for your advantage. Culture appropriation has been an issue of concern to many indigenous groups, particularly when they see that their cultural identity has been stolen from them manifesting itself in stolen designs of their tribal clothing, jewellery, music, and relics.
In literature, cultural appropriation can cause controversy when authors create characters based on minority or indigenous groups or backgrounds. Many anthropologists believe culture appropriation suggests theft because it involves taking traditional knowledge and cultural expressions from another culture without permission.
Nevertheless, cultural appropriation is not a new phenomenon. For centuries, the West learned about other cultures through emissaries and exchanging exotic goods. The term cultural appropriation gained increasing popularity in the 1980s.
Cultural appropriation comes in different shapes and forms. It can also have a commercial and personal distinction. For example, for many years, the song “Happy Birthday” wasn’t under copyright until a 2015 legal decision made it secure copyrights, which meant that people had to pay thousands of dollars in licensing fees to play it in a movie, TV show, or publicly perform it in front of a large audience.
Nevertheless, anyone could still sing it to family and friends for free.
As accusations of improper borrowing increase, cultural appropriation is becoming more controversial than ever before. After all, nobody owns a culture, but everybody inhabits one. Inhabiting a culture involves finding ways to reach out to other cultures. Advocates of cultural appropriation say they aren’t opposed to cultural engagement but want to protect marginalized communities and indigenous groups.
With the topic of cultural appropriation becoming ever popular many might question if its incorrect to learn, communicate and respectfully adopt other cultural ideas and traditions.
Is Cultural Appropriation Always Wrong?
Other cultures can be beautiful to embrace. After all, you can adopt different styles of clothes and jewellery from all over the world. Cultural appropriation in fashion is spreading on an unprecedented scale. Several fashion houses and brands are integrating fabrics and designs inspired by other cultures.
This makes people appreciate cultural heritage. Nevertheless, recently, many fashion designers have been attacked for stealing indigenous styles and patterns of other cultures without their consent.
An Italian fashion house was recently under fire for launching a collection of dresses and skirts in cotton poplin with contrasting ethnic prints copied from an indigenous community in Laos. The Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre immediately launched an awareness campaign highlighting the situation.
Many of the designs that were copied from the local tribe in Laos require a lot of time, skill, and patience to execute. Tribal leaders were shocked to see them reduced to a printed pattern on a mass-produced garment. A few fashion designers have gone so far as to create designs based on shallow and offensive stereotypes.
When performed appropriately, cultural appropriation can be attractive because it explores influences from other cultures and communities. For example, you can see fabrics from Africa and beads from communities in Northern Thailand integrated into fashionable items. That can be a source of pride for local communities.
Even though it might cause outrage, cultural appropriation isn’t going away. After all, you can’t stop people from playing dress-up. Throughout the world, many have embraced outfits from other cultures. At times, you might see Japanese women dressed as Mexicans and American women adoring themselves with brightly coloured beads and jewellery from West Africa. The impulse to creatively explore other cultures is innate and universal.
Even though cultural appropriation might cause outrage among small communities and groups, it will not stop. Nevertheless, can we really find a shared vision to work collaboratively across cultures and ensure each party is represented and recognized?
A Shared Vision
Fashion designers and brands need to understand that they must responsibly value the skills that bring their collections to life. Organizations like the Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Work Initiative work with designers and traditional textile artisans to ensure cultural ideas and intellectual properties are valued and respected.
This involves utilizing the three Cs acronym: consent, credit, and compensation. When there is a shared vision that respects another culture’s rights, legal and financial hurdles are negated. When fashion designers and brands have a shared vision, they know what is expected from them.
For example, an Indonesian designer had a very respectful exchange with local artisans on how to bring their craft into contemporary fashion while fairly compensating their work. A few have even gone so far as to compensate and empower local communities.
Every culture and society has its gatekeepers. In small communities, these gatekeepers define what is acceptable and what is not. Tribal leaders or chiefs often strive to protect their cultural traditions and privileges and cordon off some of their beliefs and heritage from intruders. When designers and brands work collaboratively with these indigenous communities, this preserves their craft and fosters a spirit of equal exchange.
Appropriation usually involves eliminating heritage and repurposing it to benefit a brand or company. Without dialogue and collaboration, ancient traditions, wisdom, and heritage can be lost. This can affect the livelihood and income streams of local tribes and communities. Reframing fashion-based cultural appropriation, not as a bad habit but as a collaborative discussion of ideas, allows us to learn more about other cultures and respect their rights!
David Messiha | Staff Writer
