Reflection of ‘Representation’

The lecture, from the better lives lecture series, that stuck with me most after watching it was the one on cultural appropriation/appreciation and representation.
I found this lecture to be not only fascinating, but informative. I, like many other people, consider myself pretty well informed about the how designers and people in general culturally appropriate fashion ideas and it often ends up being misleading and insulting. However, I realised I was less well informed about cultural appreciation and the way designers, and lay people alike, can use elements of other peoples culture, but in a respectful way. Not only can this be done considerately, but it can also celebrate different cultures. To this end, we can use aspects of other cultures to unite people and celebrate different heritage through fashion, using fashion as this medium of empowerment and celebration, rather than to appropriate and potentially belittle certain cultures.

I particularly liked the way in which this lecturer highlighted how, although fashion and the global media are using more black representation and bringing people of different backgrounds and ethnicities to the forefront, that actually black stereotypes are still very prevalent in modern media. She made the point that rappers and ‘black entertainers’ are conforming to western ideals, often by flaunting their wealth in particular. They seem, she thought, to be trying to fit in or please our Eurocentric views which place particular value on financial success.

There is an interesting parallel which can be drawn in the fashion community and that is that in catwalks, shows, campaigns, adverts and editorials, there is a distinct lack of black models; or indeed models of any background that isn’t European. How can we make it more inclusive, and how can we start to use fashion to appreciate different, less represented cultures? On the runway, models are often seen in kimonos or in a version of traditional dress from African heritage. The majority of the time, this is not done in a tasteful way. It is usually done by white western designers and shown on models who are not representative of the cultures shown through the dress. To properly represent these cultures and celebrate their origins, we need models who are from backgrounds that are unrepresented. More Japanese models, wearing the kimonos for example. This is important representation. Not only in fashion: fashion is a global platform that informs and influences other aspects of what we consume digitally. It affects what we believe and thus, by extension, our views of the people themselves. The lecturer made the point that by presenting black men in such a way, through cultural appropriation  that we are actually alienating these people from our global consciousness.  The less we see them, the more damaging for them that is, but what is more damaging is how they are represented. If they are represented in a negative light or in a racist way, then that is going to affect how we view them in society.

Only last week, the New York fashion institute of technology hold a runway which featured racist symbolism in the form of oversized ears and big lips. An obvious sign that we have a long way to go with cultural appropriation and racism in fashion.