Japanese designer Junya Watanabe recently debuted his Spring 2016 collection in the Paris Museum of Immigration last week. The theme of the collection was “Faraway” but it’s pretty obvious the entire show was infused with trends specific to African culture. Watanabe collaborated with Vlisco, a Dutch company well known in West and Central Africa for supplying wax print fabrics and paired his designs with African artifacts, beads and accessories.
Then there is also this gem, of the cornrowed white male model with faux dreadlocks attached to the top:
Watanabe was very intentional in both his concept and model choice. The fact that there were absolutely zero black models in this fashion show combined with the obvious appropriation of African trends is enough to raise a few eyebrows. This errs on the side of Teen Vogue’s editorial decision fail by excluding features of brown and dark skin women in their piece on Senegalese twists.
A few more photos from the show:
Coincidence? Twitter didn’t think so:
who wore it best: junya watanabe s/s 16 or rachel dolezal? pic.twitter.com/Z7ISApz6d6
— Four Pins (@Four_Pins) June 26, 2015
Junya Watanabe. Wyd……… | Black culture is popular, black people are not. pic.twitter.com/MYCOglgiza
— Wanna (@WANNAJEAN) June 26, 2015
Is no one else seriously uncomfortable with Junya Watanabe’s SS16 menswear? White boys wearing the glories of an African pillage? Really?
— Alexander Antoniou (@_wet_hair) June 26, 2015
Junya Watanabe Spring 2016 Menswear http://t.co/0hgp9X3Pwn the reach to not say this was a terrible and racist show is truly magnificent
— Arabelle Sicardi (@arabellesicardi) June 27, 2015
Do you think the designer gets a pass here or do you feel it’s blatant exclusion and cultural appropriation all over again?
24 Responses
SERIOUSLY, if you ask me, i think we’re overreacting. The guy used the models he wanted to use. Maybe he was trying to show CONTRAST. I have been to many fashion shows in Nigeria where the designs are indian saris and they were worn by black women. i didnt hear no complaining then. Lets just stop picking on ertin.
The best way to stand up for ourselves is to buy from black companies and boycott those disrespectful brands as much as we possibly can. These people disrespect us but they sure respect our money. Let’s hit them where it hurts.
Amen! I’ve been saying that for years!
I agree 100%, I’m even starting to research black owned companies to buy from because this disrespectful foolishness has lasted long enough. Black people are waking up.
I have only been researching to make sure I was using black owned/black friendly companies for about a year, and I’ve found so many wonderful products/companies looking for replacements for the things I was buying from companies that ignore us. It wasn’t a sacrifice, it was an upgrade 🙂 It was nice to see how many companies there are that DO acknowledge us as customers.
is this racism or stupidity, as a culture our foundation has been chip away in the name of progress. non-colored folks across the globe feel it okay to include piece of us, to evoke the idea of our culture but exclude when come to the rewardt i don’t think this would have been an issue if there where at least one or two ebony skinned models. it almost seems like a joke. until one realizes this not uncommon.
So ridiculous…
When we as black people start saying “No” to the white own companies that exploit us. then things will change. As long as west Africa allows this dutch company Vlisco to exploit their designs for recognition and profit then how can we stop this.
If black people worldwide boycotted fashion/beauty lines and retailers who didn’t use black models and disrespected us in general, things like this would happen a lot less often. I don’t buy lipstick and mascara from companies that don’t have brown foundation colors. There are enough companies who support us that it wouldn’t mean going without, just buying more carefully.
that was unfortunate
Once again, a clear cut example of appropriation and exclusion. When will they learn that they can never do it better than us. We are often imitated, but never duplicated and I can’t even waste my time being angry at this foolishness.
Hmm…the thing with this controversy is as a community we live in the following paradox: on a hand, we want to be viewed beyond our skin color as great artists, entrepreneurs, parents, employées, students etc. We want to be considered as anybody else and we want our beauty to be acknowledged as caucasian, asian, etc beauty. But at the same time, each time someone outside the community uses éléments from our culture (either afro music, jewellery, clothes, poetr,y, expression) and there comes the Black storm. So how should it work ? each time, a white woman likes an African-inspired clothe, , she should face the Great Afro Jury who will investigate if she is fully aware that the clothe belong to our tradition and that she must feel special and honored to be allowed to wear it.
I believe this Japanese designer tried to make a statement..those attires are no longer “african”, they now belong to the Fashion industry as any other clothe. Our traditions are becoming mainstream, we are no longer “ethnic” and I think it’s a good step.
Ya…..You just perfectly described the definition of Cultural Appropriation. You see someone who has oppressed your people and many others for centuries and later taking your culture and religious customs and using it as “fashion” all while basically saying “It’s only acceptable if WHITE PEOPLE do it” and you think it’s a “good step”?
If someone doesn’t want to face the storm then don’t step outside the home. No person of color should have to stand appropriation to be “accepted” by White people. POC are daily being made fun of for looking, wearing, eating, speaking and doing the things and ways of their culture but when when White people do it, it’s “trendy” and “fashionable.” Um, no. Have all seats.
We’re no longer “ethnic” because we’re being pushed into obscurity. It’s never a good step to have everything that makes you special be presented as someone else’s brainchild without acknowledgement of your being the reason for it’s existence. It’s jarring to see white people be the face of African fashion when Africans have never been showcased for their own fashion. The problem is that society lept from hating black people too much to associate them to associating just long enough to pilfer from them. Black people have never been allowed to capitalize on their own strengths. Thus, the only time black culture becomes mainstream is when a white person stakes his or her claim to it. Either they own our image or our image is ridiculed. That’s problematic, not a good step.
I think it would be a good step if black people benefited from the appropriation of our culture, but we don’t. I remember in college there was this white boy who dressed ‘black’ and hung out with the black kids. His association with black culture heightened his perceived masculinity in the eyes of people on campus (black and white), but when it came time for him to date, it was consistently white women. Black women weren’t even on his radar. When I think about appropriation I think back to that. People use black culture as a tool to boost their credibility, to expand their artistry or to make financial gain but the benefits flow one way which, by definition, is exploitive. If the appropriation of black culture is a good thing… then why is it still so hard to get mainstream culture to report on issues of concern to black people? Why are black women still losing jobs over their natural hair? Why are black girls still getting body slammed by police at pool parties? Why does this blog need to even exist to offer support to black women who don’t see positive reflections of themselves? While I do agree that cultural exchange is an inevitability of modern culture and can/has result/ed in some positive outcomes, the kind of ‘borrowing’ from black culture that I’ve seen is insidious and not so much as an homage to black people as a blind theft of culture. And let’s not forget that the theft of black culture has historical roots: it’s called slavery and colonialism. We often forget that theft of black labor, culture, money and ideals was the Western cultural status quo for hundreds of years. In many ways it still is.
Thank you for summing this up so perfectly.
^^this exactly! I think that people get this, but don’t want to admit that they do. Once someone admits to themselves that this is an issue, it becomes harder for them to just be ok with things as they are
You all got valid points and this appropriation is not always something I’m comfortable with but my question is how do we sevrage “cultural appropriation” from “cultural exchange”. I mean we as a community we borrow from other cultures too: we borrowed perm, relax hair from other communities (not the best borrowing but still we did and still do), I believe some of us eat pastas/pizzas from Italy, wear tribal tattoos from the Maori tribe (New-Zealand), listen to rock music etc. Cultural exchange has always existed and will always exist. I don’t think it’s a good idea to only seize it as threat, as a robbery and a cultural appropriation…
This is an important question, we certainly don’t need “white man approval” but being considered as fully integrated in the different societies we live in means that we borrow from each other.
I do agree that history has a say in this but again…how long are we gonna anayse our current history through the dominant/dominated point of view?
Sometimes people outside the community are just genuinely amazed by the greatness of our practices and are not new colonialists etc.
And in conclusion, even if the situation is far from being optimal, it’s not true to say that black culture is only mainstream when carried by white folks..nobody will contest the global appréciation of artists like Beyonce, Mickael Jackson, Rihanna, Miles Davis, James Brown or models like Naomi Campbell, Iman Bowie, Tyra Banks, actors like Idris Elba, Taraji P Henson, Will Smith, entrepreneurs like Oprah, politicians like Obama…They are all black and appreciated as being black.
What you’re missing is that black people don’t claim pasta as their own, we still call it Italian food, we don’t pretend that our hair grows in straight, we identify our human hair weaves by nation of origin, we can’t “borrow” rock because we are its originators, etc. Cultural exchange, cultural appropriation, and cultural appreciation are three different concepts. The entertainers you listed are not cultures, they are part of black culture, and appreciating them individually is not the same as appreciating the black community they are part of. Furthermore, it’s arguable whether they are appreciated for being black or for being profitable. As far as knowing where exchange ends and appropriation begins, just ask yourself whether the culture that a particular thing comes from has been acknowledged or showcased using natives of that culture, or if that thing is being presented as an original work by someone who is not native to that particular culture.
Well said.
I don’t know what to think. Being mad is getting old. I feel really bad saying this,
But I don’t care anymore. Because in the arts the door is wide open.
With these issues it’s like “picking the bone, after the meet is gone. Maybe we should become designers, would we even use African art, are would our fashion show more European tones, hair etc. ?
We are just coming into our own natural hair, some did not even wear African clothing jewelry etc prior to going natural. I’m one of them. It was his fashion show so it’s his business.
What’s so insidious about appropriation is that it would lead you to believe that people from that culture aren’t already doing everything in their power to get recognition for their work. There are lots of African designers and African American designers who highlight their culture in their work. However, the question is, how many of them were invited by the Paris Museum of Immigration to be part of the show? How many of them are contacted by major fashion magazines to do several-page spreads? Don’t let the lack of representation convince you that black people are twiddling their thumbs while white people capitalize on their ineptitude or laziness.
the designer did this on purpose, to cause controversy…..to get his name out….this is how it’s done now….
Thank you! Besides, his ‘models’ look rather ridiculous wearing clothing that simply does not look good on them. They even look like they’re trying too hard.
Everything is always about getting a reaction out of people, especially from the black community, because it’s what they expect. This why I commented under vogue article that we as a black community shouldn’t get so distracted fussing over social media about these things. Instead, whenever we see things like this, take it as an opportunity to support one another, use that energy of frustration to go twice as hard on social media by re-posting, sharing stories and or articles from your favorite black blogger, youtubers, pinterest boards, black authors, writers, journalist, anyone who’s only goal is to uplift the black community in a positive manner, or in this case share well known or up and coming talented black/African designers. Let our actions of uplifting and supporting one another drown out this nonsense. Strength in numbers.