SHOWTIME® FEATURE
INAPPROPRIATE
INSPIRATION
WHY CULTURAL APPROPRIATION IS PROBLEMATIC By Jennifer Bringle It seemed harmless enough. A pair of cutoff shorts, embroidered with a colorful starburst pattern. A dress, adorned with a zig-zagging geometric motif. A blouse, festooned with vibrant embroidered flowers. Yet these pieces—Anthropologie shorts, a Zara dress and a Patowl blouse—all drew the ire of Mexico’s Ministry of Culture, which sent a notice to the companies earlier this year accusing the fashion
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www.InternationalTextileAlliance.org/Showtime
brands of cultural appropriation of native motifs and techniques. In recent years, we’ve heard a lot about cultural appropriation in the fashion industry, and it’s an issue that can arise in any realm of textile design, including fabrics for the home. But what exactly does cultural appropriation mean? And why is it problematic?
