Which Major Fashion Brands Have Been Accused Of Subcultural Appropriation?

Some people really aren’t happy with Fall 2017’s designers. Why? One of the beauty trends that subtly made its way in the latest collections reignited the diversity debate about subcultural appropriation in fashion.

Much like Karlie Kloss’s Native American headdress in 2012’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, this season brought up another minority group: Latin Americans. Specifically, the Latin American chola style. ‘Ch-whaaa?’ Chola, the term typically ascribed to women of Mexican and/or Puerto Rican descent whose particular style of dress has become its own discourse.

Why some of Fall 2017’s lines have landed themselves in hot water is because their chola-referring runways incorporated the subculture’s hair and makeup especially, to varying extents. (Which, overall, looks like a badass pin-up girl combined with a 90s hip hop musician.) Thus the question is: Is this yet another case of the fashion world profiting off another minority’s cultural heritage? Considering Givenchy already sparked this debate with its chola-inspired Fall 2015 collection, let’s just it was Salt Bae level salt sprinkling to the poorly healed wound.   

So who’s been sent to the naughty corner? Moschino for starters, because the usual La Dolce Vita ladies erred on Latina thanks to their door knocker earrings and pencil-lined nude lips. Valentino and Puma by Fenty embraced the chola style vampy lip and dramatic cat eye. Even at the pinnacle of luxury fashion, Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld’s Barbarellas dabbled in typical chola beauty with pencil’d eyebrows and lips.

New York dipped into chola style, too, with Michael Kors giving his Upper East Side WASPs huge gold hoop earrings. Across the Fashion Weeks, the classic chola bandana, while not wrapped around models’ heads, was embraced by designers as part of the Business of Fashion’s #tiedtogether political initiative.

Collectively, it does appear that there was a lil’ subcultural appropriation happenin’, but it also seems as though this wasn’t done to parody or disrespect the Latin American community. That said given the world’s heightened sensitivity to minority groups (on ya, Trump), this has provoked another conversation.

Sure, we’re biased to defend our beloved fashion industry; however it seems as though, in this situation, a little creative license can be overlooked. After all, isn’t incorporating subcultures into global fashion an effective way of including greater diversity worldwide? Just sayin’…