Friday, January 20, 2017

Chanel's 2017 Spring Campaign Is Problematic With Cultural Appropriation

Chanel 2017 Spring Campaign Bantu Knots
Chanel 2017 Spring Campaign Bantu Knots
Chanel 2017 Spring Campaign Bantu Knots
Chanel 2017 Spring Campaign Bantu Knots
Chanel 2017 Spring Campaign Bantu Knots
Hardly into the New Year and we have a cultural appropriation blunder on our hands. The new Spring 2017 Chanel campaign is odd at best playing with pop art, robots – and Bantu knots. According to a press release it was meant by Karl Lagerfeld to:
“Play with contrasts as he captures the metamorphosis of a contemporary creature, one minute a pop Lolita, the next a cyber punk.”
That part is clear because the whole campaign is inspired by a modern digital mood cast during the runway show but what’s not clear is the option to style model Arizona Muse with Bantu knots.
The continued use – Marc Jacobs came under much criticism last season during a Spring 2015 show not to mention a dreadlock backlash – proves the industry must reassess how to take inspiration in and appreciate other culture’s beauty traditions.

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