Cultural Appropriation Of 2012's New York Fashion Week

“I am no bird, and no net ensnares me. I am a free human being with an independent will.” This is a quote from Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre. The character Jane reminds me of a famous immigrant in American history who led women to break out of traditional roles. Her name was Liz Claiborne, an innovative designer who was the first to realize that every working woman wasn’t ending up in the boardroom or aspiring to [corporate life] (Bernstein 1). It is unquestionably hard for immigrants to prove themselves in a foreign country, but Liz Claiborne did it. Liz Claiborne was a Belgian who immigrated to America and changed fashion and business industries in U.S. due to her innovations.

When people think of the New York City Garment District, the first things that come to mind are high-end fashion designers like Michael Kors and Calvin Klein and the famous New York Fashion Week. As a New York Times reporter Jean Appleton put it, New York City is the “bustling epicenter of America’s clothing design and the manufacturing industry.”1 However, fashion is only part of the story. Few people actually know how garment production in New York City came about. Before the design and construction of huge lofts and towering skyscrapers, garment production took place inside garment shops and factories inside tenements. The garment industry has changed significantly in the past two centuries and continues to change today.

Grace Bonner’s groundbreaking reputation stems from her success in pushing black male identity in fashion beyond the streetwear and her identity as a mixed-race individual is integral to her practice. Cultural appropriation prevails as a controversial issue in the fashion industry. As designers constantly seek for inspiration beyond their immediate culture, their designs often result to be imprudent and objectively offensive. Jenni Avins, however, reminds us that “we have to stop guarding cultures and subcultures in efforts to preserve them. It’s naive, paternalistic, and counterproductive. Plus, it’s just no how culture or creativity work.” Adopting elements of different culture is natural by-product of the interaction of different customs and globalization that indicate a diverse and rich society. This, however, should not function as a leeway for designers to abuse cultural appreciation as cultural appropriation or racism. Many don’t realize that wearing elements of different cultural backgrounds inadvertently perpetuate segregation and stereotypes, especially when a subculture becomes haute couture: universally promoted by and promoting Western refinement. Those who claim that ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ fail to recognize their inherent privilege or be aware of the history of oppression that the population of a subculture suffered from.

This summer, to celebrate Carolina Herrera’s 35th anniversary in the fashion industry, SCAD FASH Museum has put on an exhibition of her work. Titled, “Refined Irreverence,” the exhibition is composed of both new and vintage pieces encompassing everything from her 1981 inaugural runway collection, day wear, bridal wear, and red-carpet gowns. Some of her new pieces on display were worn by celebrities such as Michelle Obama, Tina Fey, Lady Gaga, Lucy Liu, and Taylor Swift, Renee Zellweger. Herrera’s collections were inspirational and beautiful beyond belief.

My final illustration, Purple Haze is a depiction of my view of haute couture in the fashion world today. The drawing displays one female figure wearing a purple gown tulle and chiffon walking down the runway. While the crowd is fairly neutral, the figure is wearing a lush purple ball gown. This image depicts the detailed and over the top designs of haute couture dresses.

- A LOT of people in the fashion industry became affected by aids (Halston dies as a result) - 1993: NYFW, which was previously scattered all across the city in studios and warehouses, galleries, etc, now has a permanent home in Bryant Park, under the famous “white tents”. - 2000s – the age of the paparazzi and celeb gossip – famous faces sit front row at shows in hopes that the glamour and kudos will rub off on their reputation. - 2001 – 9/11 occurred (first day of 2001 fashion week), fashion week canceled. Following year (2002), London and NY switch fashion week dates so that the first day of NYFW does not fall on first anniversary of 9/11.

New York Fashion Week was a successful nine days this year. There had been some doubt about the industry due to its state of flux recently. There was a larger amount of diversity, in age, race and body type. Social media platforms such as Instagram were very active with updates from the various shows that were taking place. The presence of social media has grown to a relatively large size and its reach continues to grow. Marketing is heavily effected by those who are influential, such as celebrities. Companies are attempting to gift their merchandise to those influentials in hopes that they will seen and photographed in the articles of clothing, therefore benefitting the company. Fashion Week has a large effect on the fashion world and will effect the appearance of

Experience a genuine runway – oversee vitality, time and style the greatest number of models as you can! So will you shock the style world with the most thrilling design shows?

Hip hop plays a huge role in the fashion industry, what might be hip and cool today can be Wack the next day. These fashion statements or fads stay for about only one generation and seem to evolve as years go on, however many people not only follow the trend but try to revive it as well. It's safe to say that the way we dress now is completely different to the way we dressed a decade ago. No matter the issue, hip hop determines the fashion fad at the time due to the vast amount of celebrities to who all have a significant way they dress. During the 1990s rappers and other well known contributors to music usually all dressed the same, they would wear baggy clothes and "sag" their pants far below their waist. The baggier your clothes the better

The fashion industry is one of the most prevalent and visible forms of influence on today’s society. Billboards, malls, magazines, TV, movies, advertisements, runways, etc. are filled with fashion campaigns usually distributed to make a statement and to influence the consumers. Often times, the fashion industry engages in offensive promotions like romanticizing eating less and the “thigh gap” or producing clothing that has “depression” plastered all over it. One of the most offensive trends of the fashion industry is the use of cultural appropriation to promote their company or clothing. Cultural appropriation is the taking of something produced by members of one culture by members of another culture. The products of that culture usually have a special sacred or cultural significance to them, which is why cultural appropriation is seen as offensive and exploiting rather than appreciated. The public tends to overlook these extreme messages and appropriation from the fashion industry, brushing them off as trendy and ideal. This becomes a problem because the fashion industry’s blatant use of cultural appropriation in editorials and ads influences people to show admiration for products from other cultures yet still remain prejudiced against the people who created and continue to practice that culture.

Fashion has been around ever since ancient times, since the time of the Romans, it survived the world wars and is yet today a business with rapid changes. Fashion started off as an art form, a way for the riches to show their social status with unique and innovative designs that only they could afford. It was a way to separate the social classes of the society. In this paper I will include the creator of haute couture, and how the following designers developed couture, as well as having leading names in today’s ready-to-wear industry. The list is long, but I chose to focus on the three most important designers of the modern fashion industry.

For years, fashion has been a huge subculture of the hip hop industry. Emerging in the 1970s, hip hop was created to promote experimentation and innovative ways of self-expression. The fashion culture of hip hop, also referred to as “big fashion” or “street fashion, has consistently been complex throughout its many different eras and styles. While fashion in hip hop is not constricted to a specific trend or designs, it is well known for its overflow of different styles all influenced by vibrant African American and Latino youths from the urban city streets of New York City later followed by Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area, Detroit, Memphis, Virginia, Atlanta, St. Louis and others. Many inaccurately credit

Most people think of the fashion industry as a materialistic world of extravagant, overpriced, un-wearable clothing. Where anorexic, and yet extremely beautiful women use their looks to sell you a product that they themselves probably don’t even like. They think of an industry that sets the most unattainable standards and lowers the self-esteem of young women to zero. They think of it as a world where everyone is judged and no one will ever be pleased…and in the end none of it even matters because they’re all just clothes, but I do not.

Although celebrity culture is typically associated with actors and actress, consumers may also rely on the trustfulness and credibility of politicians and first wives when deciding fashion trends. In the 1960s, fashion icon Jackie Kennedy took over the fashion industry (Joel 1). She appealed to many stay-at-home women because she was commonly known to have a “sophisticated simplicity” (Joel 1) approach to fashion. Her successor, First Lady Michelle Obama has instantly become a fashion icon herself as well. She is commonly seen wearing American designers therefore pushing “the American fashion industry into the international spotlight” (Givhan 1). People are often so draw to her style because it gives a glance into her personal life. As Givhan states, “Obama’s clothes have connected with the public in contemporary terms, in the language of Hollywood’s glamour, Seventh Avenue’s bold entrepreneurship and the democracy of the mass market” (Givhan 1). In March 2009, Michelle Obama appeared on the cover of US Vogue which showcased her “dress, style, and poise” (Gibson 40). Brett Schenck, president of Hart Schaffner Marx states, “It’s usually the frenzy behind the first lady” (Jones), but in the some instances, President Obama has also made an impact on the fashion industry. In the summer of 2009, designer Donatella Versace created a runway show that was designed and dedicated to him. The clothes she created where inspired by President Obama because it showcased “a relaxed man

It is evident that the quantity and quality of clothing is affected and influenced by the fashion industry as shown by the many manufacturing processes of the haute couture branch of the fashion industry. Originating in Europe, haute couture is defined as “high sewing,” in which clothing is made with expensive fabrics and is hand tailored by professional artisans skilled in dressmaking, embroidery and many more (Major). In the mid-19th and the early 20th century, the haute couture branch of fashion was at its peak with the invention of fashion houses, companies that specialize in high fashion