As we discussed last Friday, Marc Jacobs is an idiot. Jacobs did his NYFW show last Thursday, and he decided that all of his models should be “styled” with multi-colored dreadlocks. Most of the models who walked his runway were white, including Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid. The reaction was instant: people accused Jacobs of cultural appropriation for using dreadlocks-as-fashion. As I said last week, I understand that this is a sensitive issue, but I also don’t think it’s even the biggest “cultural appropriation” issue out there these days. My thought was that Jacobs had used dreads specifically to get attention, and he made a big show of not understanding why people commented. It really did seem famewhore-driven, you know? Initially, in the wake of the controversy, Jacobs wrote this on his Instagram:
“And all who cry ‘cultural appropriation’ or whatever nonsense about any race of skin color wearing their hair in a particular style or manner – funny how you don’t criticize women of color for straightening their hair. I respect and am inspired by people and how they look. I don’t see color or race- I see people. I’m sorry to read that so many people are so narrow minded…Love is the answer. Appreciation of all and inspiration from anywhere is a beautiful thing. Think about it.”
Yeah, people did “think about it,” because we all need to be patronized by a white guy when it comes to sensitive racial matters, right? So the internet kerfuffle carried on, made worse by Jacobs’ comments. And now he’s finally apologizing. Sort of. He posted this on his Instagram:
What kind of dumbass apology is that? “I apologize for the lack of sensitivity unintentionally expressed by my brevity.” Your brevity wasn’t the issue, dude. As for “Nothing is gained from spreading hate by name calling and bullying” – yeah, maybe you should think about that before you accuse black women of “cultural appropriation” for straightening their hair. Think about that before you refuse to acknowledge your tremendous white privilege within the fashion industry.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Fame/Flynet.
Mansplaining and Whitesplaining at the same time. Very efficient.
He’s a notorious mansplainer, and apparent “don’t step on my creativity with your rational nonsense. From Jezebel: “Perhaps nobody flouted the restriction more unabashedly than Marc Jacobs — who sits on the CFDA’s Board of Directors, and to whom the organization gave its 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award — who knowingly put two 14-year-old girls on his runway, and defended himself in the New York Times on the grounds that using only models over 16 impinged on his creative freedom. The Times ran two stories in as many days fairly excoriating the designer for hiring the 14-year-olds.”
He’s just a greedy, narcissistic pig.
Wasn’t one of his models burned by stage lights at one of his shows a few years ago?
Just gross.
Also, I wonder what George Clinton thinks about this blatant hijackery of his signature style.
@kitten, oh George called Marc, he wants his style back. And he’s thinking about charging MJ a small fee for the inspiration.
God, I can’t with Marc Jacobs. I feel like I’ve heard really unsightly news about him for YEARS! Didn’t he used to have drug filled orgies? I swear I heard that once.
This guy needs to stop speaking. From now on I’ll think of him as John Galliano 2016
Yup – and also very much “tone policing” – http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/12/tone-policing-and-privilege/
Bo Derek. And they were hideous.
Did anyone even praise the actual clothes??! They look hideous and his clothes havent been great for a while – hes now a fashion designer who relies on ~scandal and headlines and slapping his logo anywhere. He should go away for a bit and get some perspective
The clothes were dreadful.
Was this a pun?
Brilliant if it was!
I Dont think Marc or whomever gets to tell Black People how to feel about this and he soon found out and had to cover his ass with this publicist written BS
Of course he doesn’t! As a white person, I get to listen to the conversation and get educated.
Just… ew. Ew at his ignorance, ew at his insensitivity, ew at his blindness to his own privilege, ew at his incomprehension.
I am SO tired of these people.
Right? …” funny how you don’t criticize women of color for straightening their hair. ” wow…just ……….wow. So clueless, willfully ignorant and reprehensible all around.
I was reading it and I audibly groaned when I came to that sentence.
Yeah because if some of us don’t we don’t get or keep the job. Can’t stroll in wearing dreadlocks or cornrows or even a natural afro, because that’s only acceptable when someone white does it.
Idk I come from a black family and these dreadlocks just look inspired by rave culture. Like the wigs my white friends will make and sew themselves before some big rave event. I showed the hairstyle to my (who is black) and she thought the hair looked idiotic as well so idk…jmo
Just to add I don’t agree w his apologies there both pretty self-serving towards him and also brushing off this mess like nothing happened
I must admit, when I first saw the photos, I thought the inspiration was eco-warrior style. Whether that style is now entrenched enough not to be cultural appropriation is not really for me to say.
His sin is to get annoyed by and talk over objections, instead of JUST BLOODY LISTENING.
https://news.vanderbilt.edu/files/George_Clinton.jpg
Not the Godfather of Funk?
….anybody…?
George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic…. THANK YOU KITTEN!
This is what’s meant by cultural appropriation. The ERASURE of Black influence.
That is such a cool picture.
Like I say, not for me to say at what point appropriation stops and embedded cultural mixing begins.
Sixer- that is a great comment. I thought about this a lot since the first article on this hideous fashion show.
Dreads seem to be a gray area or at least a topic that isn’t as hot button to some as others and I know that in my life I have been exposed to dreads by white kids in the 90s. And George Clinton which kitten nailed. The fact that white kids had to ‘bring it home’ and they educated people on being more open minded to different cultures and then sporting that style with bouncy feet that they are making the world a more rainbow place- I see that as problematic and while those kids meant well, it is clueless. I thought maybe MJ was coming from this place but then he brought up women straightening their hair- oh hells no.
It’s definitely not for me to say when it is offensive or taking from & not respecting another culture. From a single point of view it can offend some people and not others. On a bigger scale, when does it become cultural mixing and when does the negative become a positive? I think it can be both at the same time. I think it’s a great conversation to have and it does make me think of the person 20 years ago who wanted to smack my little brother for sporting dreads at 14 (white middle class kid). I didn’t understand why he didn’t cut them off that night and I would have but that’s me. I don’t understand wearing a style that offends other people when you are just trying to look cool.
I have two in-laws in my family who wear dreads and are black/mixed race. I have an aunt who is white and an eco-warrior who has worn dreads for decades and sticks ribbons in when dressing up for parties. Also, George Clinton is not such a cultural icon in the UK, so the colours in these Jacobs creations is probably the thing that sent my mind to eco-warrior. Everyone’s perception, I suppose, is biased to their own lives and experiences.
But it isn’t for me to say what constitutes cultural appropriation. It’s for the appropriated to say and for me to accept their point of view.
It is a good conversation to have. And a shame that Marc Jacobs refuses to have it.
I agree with you both that the bigger issue was definitely the initial ridiculous IG response. But the reaction itself threw new light onto the context behind the dreadlocks and made the whole situation reek, top to bottom.
You’re actually right, they do like they are inspired by rave culture (and eco-warrior). Honestly though when I first saw the pictures I thought the models were wearing colourfull mops not dreadlocks. His comments are cringe – worthy and asinine btw
They look like cyber punk dreads, like what I saw tons of people wearing in the rave scene in the 90s. Super colorful, super fake, and supposed to be fun. All he needed was to add some of those sparkley curled tube ribbon things to make it complete.
His response was stupid as hell, though. Like he was waiting for people to say something so he could be all “peace and love” about it.
The clothes were ugly and those mock locks made it worst. Looks like mad mad movie leftovers.
The reason black women straighten their hair has been explained a million times on end so I don’t understand why people still use that as some type of of justification for appropriation. Wearing our hair in its natural state whether it’s a fro or locs is banned in many places, deemed as unnaceptable and black women are still getting fired from jobs and kicked out of schools for wearing then. This is why many black women feel it’s easy to straighten their hair or wear straight weaves. And on a lighter note, Just yesterday in the Kerry Washington thread someone said that it looked like a bomb went off in her hair, a few weeks ago in the Odell Beckham Jr thread someone was making fun of him and saying his hair looked like a plate of noodles. Black people wearing their hair in it’s natural state makes them a a subject for mockery, but Marc Jacobs can trot white models out on the runway with locs and it’s cool and edgy. This is why people are upset. This is why a big deal is made. Stop trying to silence people for expressing their opinions and feelings because of experiences they’ve had.
I know this was long and repetitive but I’m sure someone will say they don’t understand the outrage or that they agree with Marc’s original statement, so I thought I would explain ahead of time.
STANDING BACK HERE CLAPPING AT MY GIRLFRIEND TELLING YOU THE FACTS WHILE STOMPING
😭 Thanks sister friend!
Marc Jacobs couldn’t care less about black women hair unless this woman is Naomi Campbell and she’ll be on his runway. He obviously doesn’t think much about everything at all.
I get it as a white woman, and I got it before my dd was adopted (who is black). It’s the willful blindness that particularly pisses me off. .. And as a gay man, he should be attuned and sensitive to discrimination. Not that it matters to this discussion, but kind of agree that his clothes have not been well made or relevant for a long time.
I’ve noticed in some ways gay white men can be the ‘worst’ it’s as if they have enough protected status as a minority group that they can claim victimhood but also maintain their status as white males of power to also victimize and mock others.
Marc’s comments read like a lot of other asshole comments coming out from Hollywood including the directors who decided to do a whole movie about a real life multiracial transgender political uprising from the POV of a non-existent white gay boy.
Yes, just yes.
I hate to hear that someone said something negative about Kerry Washington’s hair yesterday. I thought she looked gorgeous. And I love to see black women wear their hair natural like that. I hate that they have been made to feel otherwise. As someone that has always had stick straight blonde hair, I think it is so beautiful.
yeah, I think that, too.
I love black woman`s hair, and I didn`t know that it is deemed as unacceptable.
That is so sad that black girls think their hair is not beautiful the way it is.
Now I understand the outrage.
In Germany – it is just the way you style your hair. In the US it means so much more.
Yes, he could have come out alright but he dug himself in so much deeper with that comment about black women’s hair and “I don’t see color” it is not even funny. Does he not have a publicist?
It’s not that this is a topic that hasn’t been discussed. Black women’s hair and the politics surrounding have at least been part of public debate the moment we first heard the name Michelle Obama, with several great documentaries he could watch. I didn’t know if I should laugh when I read those comments. You’d think a contemporary designer would know something about contemporary topics. Or, you know, a human being.
It’s ridiculous and I hate that argument passionately. My friend has long dreads ( down to her ass) she used to work at a nursing home doing housecleaning, always wore her hair in a ponytail to keep it out of the way (and toilet), so family member of one of the residents made a complaint that her hair was unprofessional. Like how? She mopped, dusted and cleaned toilets all day. I shaved my head back in January. It’s grown out now and you can see the curl pattern, I had to very loudly tell a co-worker to take her hands out of my hair. She was behind me pulling on my curls and watching it go back. I am not a toy!
Oh Originally How about how my boss has No Issues with My Purple Hair STRAIGHT, but when I just wet and condition my hair and just wear it curly… He ALWAYS finds a moment to remark as to how “he likes it better the other way” .. This stuff happens and it’s NOT our imagination!, me and my sister are having Lots of convos about our texture, this bouncing back on my nieces, why our mom and family are never satisfied with their hair and how that in turn makes us dissatisfied with our god given texture? examining why we put our hair pattern through the trouble etc, I Think once I get a Bit more length going m just gonna color and DASIT! my boss and very Hair grade obsessed Family will just have to Deal!
QQ you must take your boss into consideration when doing your hair. The fuq is wrong with him? Honestly black hair is such a huge topic. I am trying to get my daughter to love her hair and let her know not to let people play in it, she does for the most part and people compliment her on it, but there is always some child in her daycare or class who tells her she has crazy hair when she wears it out. Her teachers have been very good and correct the behavior and let them know it’s not.ok, but damn if I don’t get pissed off because she ends up wanting to wear her hair up for a few days after because she wants to fit in.
Ugh OB and QQ don’t you just want to have some pest reppelant spray on hand to catch folks who think you’re an ‘interactive display’??
That might be the next big profit idea, right next to pepper spray a can where you spray it and a loud voice screams “Don’t Touch My Magic” and a bunch of glitter shoots out at the person.
QQ- this reminds me of dreads being cute when worn by techno kids but dirty when someone is black. I’m sorry about your boss- what an a-hole. I hate those situations in my life because I react by doing exactly what they don’t like rather then what I would want to do and sometimes can’t even tease that out once they open their big fat mouths. A man that I worked for told me once that I looked more professional in skirts rather then pants and I pushed all my skirts to the back of my closet. The fact that your boss thinks it’s okay to tell you what he likes in the way you look is f-ed up.
Eloquent and truthful as always, Almondjoy! Love reading your comments on this site.
Thank you for taking the time to educate! I think everyone must know this and then idiots like Marc Jacobs speak. I guess it’s good he speaks so we know how stupid they are and can try to educate them.
One of the things as a kid that hit me like a ton of bricks when learning about some experiences of growing up black was when I met a black woman with burns on her neck and she said that it was common from having to straighten her hair as a child. I learned how painful, expensive & time consuming this was and how it was imposed to being able to work, go to school and not be a target of more racism. I hear about hair straightening and I think of those scars……This is such a great example of violence perpetrated on a group by the one in power and then don’t even have to lift a finger and can claim ignorance. Hopefully, when more people speak up they can’t claim just being dumb anymore.
YAY! LOVE when I come in late and see someone LAYING DOWN FACTS! Go Almond!
Sorry I’m late, but AMAZING comment Almondjoy!
Just said the same above, but not as eloquently. Thank you. I don’t know why this has to be said over and over and over again. Aren’t we in the information age? Isn’t everyone wired? Someone says something and soon the whole world knows about it. But using the n-word, cultural appropriation and black-face hasn’t reached the hinterlands.
Someone show this moron (Jacobs, not the op!) the article about little black girls in South Africa being told they just wear their hair straight to school. That may show one of the many reasons why ‘women of colour’ straighten their hair. What an ignorant arsehole. Ugh.
Personally, I loved Kerry Washington’s hair and I’m old enough to know when Afros were everywhere on African Americans. I still think they are beautiful and I hate that our society makes people of color change the actual structure of their hair for acceptance. It’s bad enough that we middle-aged woman have to dye our hair. But to have to use chemicals to complete change it! What BS.
Gawd yes Almond joy!
It’s a BS apology because he isn’t sorry. He’s not sorry at all. Not one iota. He doesn’t see color y’all! Headdresses are FASHION y’all. Dreads, especially COLORFUL DREADS, it’s just stylish and inspiring.
Think about it.
How about this MJ, how about I think about how a white, petulant little man/boy tried to reverse the tables on cultural appropriation by throwing out possibly one of the most rascist, and insensitive slurs there is for women of color.
Go get bent Marc. And no, I won’t be kind you asshat.
So can we expect more black and brown models on his catwalk now, since he doesnt discriminate and all.
Naya…he doesn’t SEE color, he literally can’t even see those poor girls when they show up to audition and he’s picking runway models.
I see him logicalizing it (new word for Marc Jacobs speak) by saying that he doesn’t see color and only goes on what is beautiful. What is beautiful happens to be rail thin, young, white, subservient women who don’t speak and he is just the messenger. Don’t hate him because he tells the ‘truth’!
I don’t understand what he’s supposed to say. Apparently he didn’t see anything wrong with them… So he needs to apologize people got offended?
I just don’t think a certain race owns a hairstyle. It is silly. And I know a lot of the argument was that POC get treated a certain way because of that hairstyle. Unless Mr Jacobs is guilty of that and someone can prove it… This just isn’t a story. Designers like him pull ideas from all over the world and many time periods etc.
He could say, oh, I don’t know?
Thank you for the humbling feedback. I hear and understand your thoughts and opinions and am grateful so many people took the time to educate me on important issues I hadn’t fully considered.
And left it at that, rather than doubling down on the insults by shouting at people who had the temerity to offer an opinion based in life experience.
There you go.
Let me see… This guy is a fashion designer. I don’t really understand what people are expecting. They aren’t exactly known for being incredibly PC. The fashion industry is well known for this type of thing. I am not getting all the outrage. They all use mostly white models of a certain weight and stature and age.
@Lalu, just because the fashion industry isn’t known to be PC, he should get a pass? Esp. for his first reaction?
That equals “oh, but that’s just what they do”, “boys will be boys” etc. in my opinion. If we, as a society, constantly excuse people for doing or saying stupid things, just because they didn’t know better, how is it ever going to be better? And something as unnecessary as the fashion industry should never ever get a pass for being stupid.
Lalu – it’s not rocket science to “get” the outrage. Some people criticised him for cultural appropriation. At this point, they were just annoyed. He escalated that to outrage all by himself with his reaction to the criticism.
If you want to “get” the outrage, just read all the articulate and eloquent comments written by wise women on here. It only requires you to do a little scrolling. The answers you seek are right here.
Nobody forced him to apologize. Infact, it would have been better for him to say nothing rather than offer a bogus apology that many people found to be more offensive than the dreads themselves.
Greenmonster… That is my whole point. The fashion industry is unnecessary and silly anyway. This just isn’t someone that I would get all upset about. These people spend their days excluding virtually everyone, across the board. If people don’t like it… Don’t support it.
As far as the “boys will be boys” comment… In a situation like this, yes, that’s what I chalk it up to. I don’t see the point in getting bogged down in it. If he had harassed or assaulted someone or something really malicious, I wouldn’t say that. Just like I won’t be mad tomorrow when I look at the pics of the models in the fashion shows and they all weigh about 100 pounds. I am going to save my outrage for something else.
@Lalu… I could not agree with you more! Speak it!
Political Correctness will be the death of America….
It seems like the people butthurt about “political correctness” are more likely to be the death of this country. We’ll see in a few months. 🙂
What was he supposed to do? From the top:
1. Don’t be ignorant of real life cultural-political issues.
2. If you’re an ‘artiste’ then buckle up when you get feedback.
3. Don’t be surprised when your lack-luster defenses are skewered.
4. Don’t offer even more pathetic responses when your perspective as a white male blinds you to reality.
5. Be prepared to have your mentions ruined and your comments ravaged.
In 2016 if you choose to ignore the issues different minority groups have tried politely to address for years you will be metaphorically torched. Either learn to do better or accept the consequences because WE face real life consequences and yes that includes at the hands of Marc Jacobs who adorably says he doesn’t see color but hires the barest minimum of black models and often does offensive shit for attention. In other words – act a fool and get treated like one.
As others said, it’s not the day and age to just fain ignorance. If people are mad at what you are doing and you don’t understand why- then SHUT UP and LISTEN. I don’t get why that is so hard for people. If you don’t understand why someone else is upset and you can’t relate then don’t try to cut them down or bring up when xxxx happened to you. That will not help. Period. Listen to what they are saying and try to put yourself in their shoes. Or just accept that they are upset & have a right to be upset (we don’t get to tell other people when they are or are not offended).
The people in power that make the rules can’t just claim that they don’t want to educate themselves on their influence. They can but that makes them a pos. For a fashion designer who is a huge influence on what we deem to be popular and aspire to, for him to throw out black women straightening their hair with no education on what that means- that is messed up. If he wants to be influential in the sense of making the world a better place for people, then he should listen and not react right away. If we keep expecting less then we will keep getting less.
What an ass.
The original post was unbelievably condescending and pinged all the tone deaf white privilege ignorance checks on the racist playing card:
“I don’t see color”
“but black people do X!”
“Why are YOU so narrow minded?”
And my favorite- Think about it”
And then to follow it up with the mother of all shi*ty apologies-the infamous “I’m sorry if YOU were offended” with an added bonus layer of condescension by granting his gentle forgiveness because we’re all just too stupid to have understood what he was trying to do originally.
Among the things that make me embarrassed to be white girl sometimes, white people lecturing POC on why it is okay to culturally appropriate their culture for monetary gain is high on the list.
This lady gets it. Perfectly stated.
I don’t know what happened to his clothes they use to be beautiful and when he did the LV collections they were fabulous. This crazy collection did nothing for me not like I can afford anything. People get on social media and just type whatever pops into their heads without thinking.. Like I say to my 15 y/o think for 5 minutes before you do anything chances are you will have a different thought later.
I am caucasian and my brother is caucasian (euro american and native american mixed) but I have African-American sisters & brothers and one korean sister. My father married 4 times and mother 3 and I was raised by my father. We all have different texture hair and raised in various homes and life styles but I would never ever be culturally insensitive. When we all hang out with each other you can see we look similiar it’s our cheek bones but nothing else much. I learn about each of our cultures so I can appreciate them and my own history more. The hair style was not only a slap in the face but was not even cute looked like was a hot mess and his apology was not sufficient he acted holier than thou and name calling and bullying? He may want to read what he writes two fingers can be pointed back at him. Most his type are self-entitled and feel the world owes him I’ve been around his kind one too many times. The models are same girls used over and over again why not use African American models more? He is mostly focused on selling sex in his products from his makeup to suits and chasing after hot men. The women are washed out carbon copies. They need to let new designers in same recycled stuff. He was wrong and should know better.
+1
Anytime someone says some BS like “I don’t see color!” I feel like smacking them with a biology book. Then dropping that and smacking them with a psychology book or journal because that’s completely stupid and false. You may judge people on their work or try and give everyone a fair chance despite their skin color but to claim you “don’t see it” isn’t true. It’s that dog whistle term people use when they do something racist (casually or not).
Well as he said, yes of course he “sees” color but doesn’t discriminate. No reason not to believe him.
The reasons not to believe him are all over his runway show
As a black person of Jamaican heritage where dreadlocks actually mean something-(they’re not just a ‘hair do’) I just sigh inwardly and carry on. If Marc wanted to get it he would, but he won’t.
Let us flip this around and ask why some black people think they can tell white people what they should think or feel.
Get over it. I am so sick of people whining about such stupid things. No one was hurt because he used those wigs. And because so many of you are crying wolf he got even more attention.
Sigh… We have real problems in this world like terrorists, abuse, starvation, cancer, murder, etc. and you guys are crying about fake hair in a fashion show.
You always trot out some version of the same ol’ tired-ass line.
“Nobody should care about anything because, terrorism.”
Squirrel!
All the problems in the world you enumerated, blacks and browns are afflicted the most. They get all that and their culture and identities get appropriated too.
All the problems in the world yet your a$$ is on a gossip site.
Why don’t you take your own advice and get over it.
“Sigh… We have real problems in this world like terrorists, abuse, starvation, cancer, murder, etc. and you guys are crying about fake hair in a fashion show.”
And yet you are here…on this message board…not fixing any of them.
For shame. Imagine if people such as yourself who didn’t want to help others culturally or improve community relations didn’t just bring out the excuse of, “But what about cancer??”
but actually donated their time and money to help?
So guess what? Everytime you post a comment on this board about ANYTHING I will be asking you what you did today to help cancer, murders, terrorism and etc.
I’m sure we’ll be taking often.
Yeah because people discussing and lowering racism in our society never helped anyone…..wait, it has but maybe it just hasn’t helped you.
The “How can you talk about this issue I don’t really want to hear about when There Are People Dying Out There” card always comes across as extra phony and hypocritical on any type of celebrity gossip or entertainment site.
Said a white woman with her knapsack of white privilege.
On a superficial note, I dont guess I have ever seen a picture of him… But he is hot. I don’t think he’s very tall. But dang… He is a good looking man.
I wonder what happend to MJ’s stalker, Angel Barta. She used to comment here and on Jez and Dlisted, accusing MJ of stealing her ideas and controlling celebs like Kanye, Miley and Lady Gaga before leaving a link to her blog. Now is her chance to prove Marc’s stealing ways. Lol.
Down a little farther, comment 27
Thanks so much everybody!
Lalu and Tschic: Yes, it’s really sad. And it’s not necessarily that black girls and women think our hair isn’t beautiful, it’s just that we’ve conditioned to think otherwise. We’ve been told outright that our hair isn’t acceptable. Just last month, a natural hair ban was lifted at a Kentucky high school. These are interesting reads:
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/a62284/kentucky-high-school-bans-natural-hairstyles/
http://www.teenvogue.com/story/zara-employee-braids-hairstyle-discrimination
It’s even happening in South Africa. These little girls are protesting:
http://www.vibe.com/2016/09/south-africa-students-natural-hair/
EDIT: I posted this in the wrong spot, meant to respond above to Lalu
Thanks for posting those links. I think it’s worth noting that even at a trendy clothing store like Zara, this young woman was discriminated against for wearing her hair in a traditionally black style. I think a lot of people have a misconception that only conservative institutions like banks discriminate against black people wearing their hair naturally.
Thank you for the article about the KY hs. That is crazy. I honestly wouldn’t have believed that had I not read it.
There was another pic of Kerry Washington with that gorgeous hair when I was reading the article.
I am so sorry that some people are just that dumb. No little girl or boy should grow up being told their hair isn’t acceptable. I can get in board with the outrage about that. That is not acceptable.
Once again THANK YOU for posting facts!
The African one breaks my heart, smh, I hate some of those schools they have that are really only there to allow colonization to continue under the guise of charity.
Why everyone is saying that he’s appropriating African-American culture and Rastafarianism? You guys know that Rastafarianism originated only in 1930th and is not an ancient “religion/philosophy”? Dreads existed loooong before that and first appeared in Indian culture and were worn by Shiva followers. That being said – many hairstyles are unique to the black culture. but not dreadlocks. Sneakers are also extremely popular in an African-American community, that doesn’t mean they were invented in Africa.
People reference it because it is the most recent and common example. I grew up in a very multicultural neighbourhood and have yet to see any one from India wearing dreads. It’s about current cultural context not origin.
I am a black woman living in NYC and I honestly don’t care about cultural appropriation! Most of my peers who happen to be black and other minorities remain unoffended by dread locks, corn rows, Moccasins, feathers and comments are weed and patchouli etc. Yes, there is racism in our society but someone borrowing aspects of an oppressed culture is, in my opinion, the least of my concerns! Also yes there are privileged white men who run the show so to speak BUT there are also a lot of kind, mindful and conscious white men who don’t deserve to be stereotyped anymore than any other race of sex. I think the hyperfocus on issues such as cultural appropriation and pointing the finger at the white man only separate us further as a culture and society.
STFU!
Forever
Thank you
But fun fact, he posted an article on his IG that said that the African American community should focus on the crime rate instead of being outraged by his show (almost as though we can’t focus on more than one thing but i digress.) He posted SEVERAL articles attempting to justify his choices instead of actually LISTENING to what people are saying.
So no, I can’t even bother to take his apology seriously. “I don’t see colour” if you don’t get.. go drown in your privilege Marc.
That’s a lame explanation but people are sooo sensitive these days.
Brange split?!?! Hollywood life…
Yeah…no, good luck with your Instagram dude.
Marc Jacobs cruelly tortures a talented young designer named Angel Barta. He’s been copying her work for 7 years without giving any credit. He kept her in psychological pressure. Read the truth at styleangelique blogspot
Is this asshat for real? No, we don’t criticize black women for cultural appropriation for straightening their hair, any more than we criticize white women for perming their hair. Dreads, however, are completely different and have a distinct cultural significance, so yes, when a craptastic white designer uses them in his narcissistic display of a fashion show on his white models, one could easily say it’s cultural appropriation, particularly since it has nothing to do with his crappy copied fashions. /rant
Or women my age (54) for dyeing our hair cause if we didn’t, everyone tells us how old we look.
When we have to do something to put food on the table, MJ needs to shut up, listen and learn.
The colorful locs didn’t bug me, but his white mansplaining did.
to have Dreadlocks aren’t a cultural appropriation or at least i don’t think black people should use the cultural appropiation term in this like they have an special right because there are so many different cultures that uses them in the past . I was born in Canary island next to coast of sahara, The aborigin of the island used to mummify corpses and did a lot of rituals and one of the was make dreadlocks to the mummys . And it’s well know this technics is used in other regions of the planet and in other cultures ,making dreadlocks like a ritual. You can find mummys in Peru , Chile etc with Dreadlocks too. You can find them in Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 3600 years to the Minoan Civilization and In India the holy scriptures of the Vedic are believed to provide written evidence of dreadlocks. and maby hermit and gurus use them in Indian.
I’m curious to hear from others – speaking as an Indian woman, I am not offended when I see Caucasians wearing saris or bindis or henna. It actually makes me proud that the world sees how beautiful our culture is and tries to draw inspiration from it. Is it possible for a fashion designer to draw inspiration from the black community if he/she shows the appropriate respect and understanding of the history of it?