Term ‘Culture appropriation’ is used to describe the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes or practices by a cultural group . The aspects included could be cultural clothing, music, art, religion,language!
Cultural appropriation in fashion!
From many years, through mass media we are able to see how mostly western countries are constantly stealing Indian fashion & hurting the cultural believes behind it!
From finding our cultural themes exotic to using our deities picture in inappropriate clothing!
Some examples –
- Bandana – Bandana print which is very common throughout the world, is originated in none other than North west India.
Bandana was seen worn by many big celebrities too, and in last years this print became global hit , it was available in mostly every fashion stores and was being styled as tops or head gear!
- Turban – turban is a symbol of respect and honour. Gucci faced backlash for showing white models in Sikh style turban for hurting the cultural sentiments of people belonging to the community!
- Deities- some designers are even printing Hindu deities pictures on inappropriate clothing and calling it exotic!
There is a thin line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation!
- Mirror work- global brand Moschino copied the mirror work of north west India . Which is basically hand embroidery done with threads and mirrors .
Stealing Indian fashion-
Some fashion brands and designers keep stealing our fashion / art , because there’s no trademark on these ethnic themes! That’s why it’s very easy to copy the original designs and embroidery. There’s no one to claim it’s copyright or trademark, that’s why our cultural believes related to these themes often gets exploited!
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Shreya kapoor 