Racist runway? Indian designers' take on Marc Jacobs' SS 17 line at NYFW!

Fashion designer Marc Jacobs has justified his use of dreadlocks on the runway at the recently concluded New York Fashion Week. His show attracted a lot of ire for the cast of mainly white models donning dreadlocks. While some denounced what they saw as a case of cultural appropriation, Jacobs shared, “(To) all who cry ‘cultural appropriation’ or whatever nonsense about any race or skin colour wearing their hair in any particular style or manner ­— funny how you don’t criticise women of colour for straightening their hair.”

He posted on his Instagram account, “I respect and am inspired by people and how they look. I don’t see colour 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.”
Accompanying the apology alongside a picture which said “I thank you for expressing your feelings. I apologise for the lack of sensitivity unintentionally expressed by my brevity. I wholeheartedly believe in freedom of speech and freedom to express oneself though art, clothes, words, hair, music, everything. Of course, I do “see” colour but I DO NOT discriminate. THAT IS A FACT! Please continue to express your feelings freely but do it kindly. Nothing is gained from spreading hate by name-calling and bullying.”
Twitterati responded to the images of supermodels including Gigi and Bella Hadid, Karlie Kloss and Jourdan Dunn, by asking why Jacobs had decided not to cast more black models when he was showcasing a look synonymous with black culture.
And this isn’t a one-off case. For a few seasons now, Valentino has been the target of outrage over styling entirely or largely white casts of models in cornrows. We spoke to designers and get their side of the story...

‘It’s a tightrope walk’
Designer Ashish N Soni says, “As designers we find inspiration from a wide range of things — from art movements to fashion eras of the past; from our travels to cultural subtexts. While translating these abstract inspirations to form, it is often a tightrope walk — we run a risk of making the inspiration to literal or ‘appropriated’ or too subtle for anyone to grasp the thought and ideology. Having said that, like any artist, fashion design is our form of creative expression and there is a certain amount of creative freedom that should be given to designers without turning it into a controversial subject.”
He adds, “With perspective to the Marc Jacobs show, however, I feel that as the designer later admitted — there could’ve been more sensitivity to the culture he took his reference from especially given the current movement by the black community in the US and globally.”

Apology wasn’t needed
Designer Wendell Rodricks is of the belief that a designer, like an artist, can reference any culture. He argues, “If Yves Saint Laurent can reference a sari, Indian designers are likewise free to reference Timbuktu. As long as religious and cultural sentiment is not hurt via indecent exposure or gimmicky scandalism, a designer is free to choose inspiration. Marc Jacobs should not have apologised for the dreadlocks nor the use of white models. When I first saw the images, I thought he referenced Hindu sadhus. Fashion should be free and democratic. It is the only way to enjoy the expression of fashion.
Set it free!”

A fashion statement
Cecilia Morelli Parekh, co-founder Le Mill says, “Marc Jacobs’ SS17 show references the heart of a subculture that has been the stepping stone for multiple fashion trends — rave culture. The dreadlocks he uses are more of a fashion statement, similar to what Karl Lagerfeld did with his Bombay Paris show, rather than an offensive show of cultural appropriation. I think it’s really difficult to play around with something cultural correctly. People are quick to use symbols from Masai tribesmen or Native American cultures right from high fashion down to high street stores, without raising any eyebrows. I think certain things become the ‘norm’, and whether that’s okay or not is not for me to say.”
She adds, “I completely agree that the use of all white models is appalling, we’re now in a day and age where you have access to a great group of diverse, multicultural models who are doing incredible work. The consumer is no longer a privileged white female so why should the clothes reflect this?”

MJ could’ve done better
Designer Manish Arora feels that incidents like this aren’t as black-and-white as they appear. “Even though both sides had their own reasons and reactions, I feel like Marc could have handled the situation a lot better. Although I believe he didn’t have any malicious intent, cultural appropriation is ubiquitous and a sensitive subject linked to power play and history that must be dealt with extremely carefully. His social media comment just added fuel to the fire and that’s when matters really got out of hand. In hindsight, he apologised for it but the damage was already done and people will take some time to recover from this,” he shares.