I write about cultural appropriation in fashion a lot. I’ve taken on big brands and small brands, arguing that our images and cultural property should be taken seriously. But today, things got personal. Brand KTZ’s Fall/Winter line at New York Fashion Week was “a tribute” to Indigenous peoples. There’s a lot to critique in the line (and I will), but nestled among …
Paul Frank offends every Native person on the planet with Fashion Night Out "Dream Catchin’ Pow wow"
Fashion’s Night Out is now in its fourth year–an annual night for residents of New York, LA, and other fashionable cities to get dressed up in sky-high heels and totter from retail outlet to retail outlet, pushing through hoards of similarly clad city dwellers attempting to partake in free cocktails and canapes. Stores host “celebrity” appearances–though it seems to be …
Midweek Motivation Videos: 1491s and Hipster Fashion
Happy Wednesday everyone! I have a couple of fun Native videos that have been making the rounds on the internets that I thought I would share. First up, the latest video from the 1491s–the Native sketch comedy group that brought us the Wolfpack auditions, Day in the Life of a Powwow MC, as well as the gorgeous poem Geronimo E-KIA, …
"Navajo" Fashion Spread in Seventeen
(via my culture is not a trend, click for bigger version) Cultural appropriation in fashion has now gone seriously mainstream. The favorite read of tweens and teens everywhere, Seventeen Magazine, featured this “Navajo” fall fashion spread in their August issue. On many levels, I find this even more offensive than having a generic “tribal fashion” spread. I know I always …
The Ultimate Tribal Fashion Roundup (June 2010 version)
(TNA Spring Catalogue) It’s been a while since my last tribal fashion roundup back in March, and even longer since I first questioned the emergence of Native themes in fashion back in January. The trends don’t seem to be slowing down, and if the prevalence of the hipster headdress is any indication, they might be sticking around for even longer. So …
The Jezebel Fashion Post that keeps on giving
(Jen Mussari’s now iconic image 🙂 ) I’ve come across some awesome blog posts in response to the Jezebel piece (found here) on Native fashion that Lisa at Sociological Images pulled together with images from this blog. The comment thread on the piece was really interesting, with people debating what should be deemed “ok” what is “offensive” and some just …
Tribal Fashion Roundup!
(http://www.etsy.com/shop/coyotepheonix) I’ve gotten a few tips this week about more tribal fashion appropriations, so I thought I would compile a few of them into a single post, because let’s be honest, I’m a little lazy this week. I found the image above thanks to Lanova posting my hipster headdress piece on a blog that “loved” this headdress (thanks girl!). It’s …
Eté Indien: French Glamour gets in on the tribal fashion trends
Fashion Foiegras posted a first look at French Glamour’s new spread on American Indian fashion trends, with the caption: “American Indian is back in style! Rock the look with a first glimpse from French Glamour.” But my first question: did we ever go out of style? 😉 A lot of the Navajo-style jewelry is gorgeous, but (even with my limited …
More Tribal Fashion: Gap "Navajo Tracker Hat"
My good friend Kayla (who is Hupa/Yurok/Karuk from Northern California) pointed me to this “Navajo Tracker Hat” from the Gap (no longer on sale so sorry I can’t link to it). She pointed out, however, that the design looks very similar to the basket hats from her community, rather than decidedly Navajo: (image via http://www.hoopa-nsn.gov) and even more similar to …
"Tribal Fashion": the newest trend?
Jezebel had a great post today highlighting Rachel Zoe’s newest “Zoe Report” entitled “Gone Native”. Zoe points to the work of Lindsay Thornburg, a designer who makes cloaks out of Pendleton fabrics (both vintage and contemporary) with names like “Navajo Nile” and “Walking Rock”. Zoe’s text reads: “As my newest outerwear crush, I am blown away by each one of …