Cultural Appropriation news and archive

Ralph Lauren accused of appropriating Mexican Indigenous designs

The head of a Mexican cultural affairs commission and wife of the country's president on Thursday accused US fashion brand Ralph Lauren of plagiarizing Indigenous designs. "Hey Ralph: we already realized that you really like Mexican designs," Beatriz Gutierrez wrote on social media. "However, by copying these designs you're committing...

Oct 21, 2022

BusinessFeatured

Shein recalls plagiarized garment for which it was once again accused of cultural appropriation

Last week, the Chinese firm Shein was accused of plagiarism and cultural appropriation by the Mexican Ministry of Culture, because on the website of this fast fashion giant you could find a flowered blouse practically identical to a traditional huipil embroidered in 2017 by the handcrafted clothing brand YucaChulas, which was the first to...

Jul 29, 2022

Culture |BACKGROUND Featured

Cultural appropriation in fashion: what is it and can it be prevented?

Cultural appropriation: The term has been used more and more in recent years, but the practice of cultural appropriation has been around for much longer. Kunstmuseum Den Haag zooms in on the phenomenon in the new exhibition 'Global Wardrobe - the worldwide fashion connection', but the subject is also often discussed during talks about diversity...

Oct 22, 2021

Business

Major fashion brands accused of cultural appropriation in Mexico

Mexico has blasted major clothing brands Zara, Anthropologie and Patowl for using patterns and other elements of Mexican indigenous textiles in their collections without permission, the ministry of culture said Friday. The ministry has sent letters to the three labels asking them to publicly clarify on what grounds "the collective property" of...

May 31, 2021

Fashion Featured

Dior criticised of cultural appropriation, deletes ad campaign

Tone deaf Luxury brands coming under fire for cultural appropriation appears to be a regular occurrence in 2019. The latest controversy comes via Dior, who removed a Native American- inspired campaign for its Sauvage fragrance from its digital channels nearly as quickly as it was posted online. First announced on its Twitter account, Dior on...

Sep 1, 2019

CultureFeatured

Cultural Appropriation could soon be Illegal

Representatives of over 180 different indigenous cultures recently called upon the United Nations (UN) to outlaw cultural appropriation in fashion at a meeting in Geneva. Should their calls be heard, the fashion industry will need to start thinking twice about its use of designs from around the world as it has traditionally been perceived as...

Jun 28, 2017