The grey area between cultural appropriation and appreciation

When Vogue India posted a picture of Kim Kardashian and her daughter North sporting twin nose rings on Instagram – the comments section ensued with its usual conversation, contrarian views and insightful inspection. However, what it sparked at the Vogue India office was a debate on the age old push and pull of cultural appropriation versus appreciation. How do you know if you are co-opting cultural connotations or innocuously borrowing an aesthetic? 

We’ve all seen instances of appropriation over the years. This usually happens when a dominant race adopts the culture of a minority with little or no sensitivity and respect towards its origin. There have been some inexcusable moments in pop culture — remember Zac Efron wearing dreadlocks and calling it ‘fun’? There was also Kylie Jenner wearing cornrows in a music video, Kim Kardashian supposedly rocking blackface in one of her brand’s beauty campaigns or Pharell Williams’ magazine cover with a native American headdress. Let’s not forget Selena Gomez or Vanessa Hudgens for their ‘bindi’ obsession at Coachella

Two weeks ago, Kim Kardashian and North West’s nose rings at Paris Fashion Week sparked a debate about cultural appropriation. The nose ring, or the nath style that she chose to wear, originated in the 9th and 10th centuries in India and symbolised the marital status of a woman. Over the years, though, the nose ring has found its place as a fashion accessory and isn’t necessarily bound by gender either – almost as common as any other piercing. Needless to say, people were displeased and called it out, while the defenders dismissed it as Kardashian’s attempt to make her customary attention grabbing statement, not deliberately intending to offend or appropriate the nose ring. 

We found ourselves in a similar dilemma when we saw And Just Like That’s Diwali episode — Did the show creators deserve a pat on the back for appreciating Indian culture enough to dedicate an entire episode to it, or should they have focused on the actual details — like not calling a lehenga a sari, perhaps? Is there a grey area at all when it comes to appropriation? In today’s times, when borrowing, co-creating and inspiring seems extremely common and happens far too often, what are the rules? Vogue got a fashion designer, a founder of a retail boutique and a global influencer to weigh in.

Dhruv Kapoor, the first Indian designer to stage a menswear show at Milan Fashion Week veers towards the ‘appreciation’ angle. “ I personally felt like Kim and North looked great. I find that people tend to bite because they are bored and need something to chew on. There are barely any rules on how to wear a nose ring — none that I’m aware of anyway.” Kapoor has always found it fascinating to see a cultural mix on the runway and doubts that brands would showcase a borrowed culture to purposely demean it in any way. He continues, “I believe in our interconnectedness as humans devoid of ownership over something as large as “culture”. A great example of this is Virgil Abloh’s ability to put together a fantastic mix of cultures in every collection. We’re all entitled to our opinion and what we see fit for ourselves. But when we’re referring to a specific culture, all we need to ensure is that we’re doing it respectfully — which is mostly done.” Respect and credit for the borrowed culture, seems to be that fine line. Kelvin Gonclaves, Founder and President at Elkel, an independent NYC based avant-garde boutique retailing designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Walter Van Beirendonck, GmbH and Rick Owens, believes that any form of art — fashion included — borrows inspiration from other cultures and it has created new and incredible things. “Fortunately, appropriation isn’t always a side effect of this crossing. A lot of it has to do with respecting the traditions of the original idea and acknowledging the inspiration. If your action disrespects the original idea because of cultural, religious or other customs, then you’ve gone too far. If you claim it as yours without giving credit, you’ve definitely gone too far. There are a few things that should never be done like blackface or dreadlocks on a white person. With taste and acknowledgement, though, most things can be done.” 

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Gonclaves continues, “Rick Owens is a great example of this. Through his career he has referenced Egyptian culture. He did it not by fetishising it nor creating some sort of Disney-fied version of it, instead he was inspired by shapes and most importantly cultural traditions and ideas of life and death and injected that into his DNA, creating something that feels modern and relevant but still full of history. I think that’s part of the reason it’s so successful, the way Rick presents things makes the audience curious about the origin. Instead of creating a design based on something else and saying this is ‘my’ creation, he created something that directed the viewer towards

As a content creator and a global influencer that has found success in representing India at International fashion weeks, the Cannes Film Festival and working with brands like Dior, Louis Vuitton and Valentino, Masoom Minawala is often in the company of celebrities and creators from different continents on the red carpet, who are likely to take interest in other indigenous cultures. Minawala says, “Sharing each other’s cultures is a healthy way for a society to thrive, co-exist and learn about each other, but it must be done carefully and with respect to the culture and what it represents. When borrowing any aspect of a certain culture, it’s important to understand the historical context. Chances are if we understand a cultural product and its sacredness, we’re unlikely to use it in an offensive or objectionable way. We need to put the research and time into it. The only way to determine if we’re appreciating or appropriating is to question ourselves and understand if we’re borrowing and respecting a culture or exploiting it and ripping it off for self-interest.”