Artibus Student Organization

España Blvd, Sampaloc, Manila, 1008

Metro Manila
April 7, 2021

Ellalyn De Vera & Richa Noriega

Manila Bulletin Authors
Muralla St, Intramuros, Manila, 1002
Metro Manila, Philippines
mbcn.com.ph

Dear Ms. Ellalyn De Vera & Ms. Richa Noriega,

Greetings! This is the Artibus Student Organization from Manila, Philippines, an organization
that strives to widen the choices of Filipino artists, both young and old, and to help society see and
appreciate the different forms of art. The organization has come across the article published online on
Manila Bulletin entitled “How to wear your culture.” and agrees with the article. The members would like
to expound more on this topic due to its relevance, to generate more awareness to the people about
cultural appropriation in the fashion industry and as well as to suggest a solution to protect the various
cultures, using this letter as a platform. 
Cultural Appropriation in the fashion industry has been a problem over the decades and because
of this, various cultures around the globe have been exploited for commercial use. This is when works of
art and other cultural practices are used without giving credit to the artists, claiming it to be their own
idea. Many influencers and netizens online have culturally appropriated clothing, especially Native
American or Asian Cultures that have been made into Halloween costumes or sexualized clothing styles.
Over the years, people have gradually shone some light to this problem, started to educate people on how
disrespectful it is and that the right artisans from these cultures are not properly given the credit for the
years of work they have put into it and the tradition passed down to them by their ancestors. Therefore,
there must be stricter laws or policies to protect the various cultures from being exploited for profit.
The terms cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation are often misused. The lines of culture
appropriation and appreciation are blurred, and the organization has gathered a few examples to clarify
these terms. In Comme Des Garçons’ Paris Fashion Show 2020, the show presented a collection of wigs
similar to cornrow braids. White men with braided hair are undeniably referencing to Black culture.
Another example is Crystal Renn’s Japan Vogue photoshoot, which shows Renn using tape to stretch her
eyelids. Perhaps Renn did not intend to allude to yellowface, yet Renn’s theme during the photoshoot
included “becoming a different person” a vague description. However, Renn’s objective to tape her
eyelids suggests that this is the best choice to make a fashion statement. Such are only a few examples of
cultural appropriation. In contrast, Oskar Metsavaht’s 2016 “Ready-to-Wear'' Spring collection that was
influenced by the Asháninka tribe, is an example of a respectful cultural appreciation to the original
tradition. Metsavaht immersed himself in the culture, lifestyle, and traditions. He even visited the tribe to
properly introduce and educate himself to truthfully represent their culture through his 2016   spring
collection. Additionally, he did not fully copy their design or clothing, he was only heavily inspired by it.
It can be argued that an advantage of cultural appropriation is that it can be a means to introduce
an object or cultural aspect to the mainstream. Bringing something from one culture and introducing it to
another can provide exposure and invite people to research more on cultures aside from their own. It also
helps avoid cultural stagnation. Mixing of cultures can produce a new one. Not all forms of appropriation
are incorrect. However, there have been far too many instances of it that do more harm than good to the
people belonging to the culture being appropriated. There is a thin line that is too often crossed between
what is considered acceptable and considered as damaging to the culture itself. (Pozzo, B., 2020)
Citing these counterclaims, the Artibus organization would like to point out three claims
regarding the cultural appropriation in the fashion industry. The first claim is that cultures from
marginalized groups are often taken advantage of in the fashion industry. An analysis conducted by
Mayra Stephanie Monroy, M.A. in 2018, showed that influence of cultural appropriation in the fashion
industry is harmful. This is due to the practiced exploitation of artifacts belonging to marginalized groups.
This phenomenon is unfortunately disguised as “inspiration.” The reduction of such works to fuel fashion
trends blatantly erases the cultural significance of these artifacts to take advantage of the efforts of
minority groups in producing art, while disregarding their means of cultural preservation. Inspiration in
the fashion industry drives the production of “trendy” apparel; however, the label often overshadows the
reality of cultural appropriation. There is no excuse for taking significant artifacts without proper
recognition of the culture they belong to, and they are not for anyone to profit from whenever. Inspiration
should coexist with cultural appreciation in the fashion industry; the lack thereof would be considered
appropriation.
This brings forward the Artibus organization’s second claim, that there must be a proper credit or
attribution of the inspired work from the culture they sought to have taken inspiration from. According to
Vézina (2019), most consumers would buy clothing and accessories made by well-known brands that
appropriate these different cultures rather than buy the products created by the people who own and
created these traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) due to the doubts of its quality and its affordability.
Since most of these appropriations are under the pretense of inspiration, most people would not notice
how appropriations affect the livelihood of the TCE owners, wherein the majority of the groups' main
source of income are crafting these articles of clothing and accessories. Instead of appropriating, fashion
companies could either collaborate with cultural artisans or give them a platform to showcase their
works.  By doing so, it will not only benefit the companies but also the artists who play an important role
in keeping the culture alive. 
The last claim the Artibus organization would like to make is that there must be laws or policies
to enforce the protection of cultures, especially the ones from marginalized groups. As mentioned before,
the fashion industry practices an exploitation of culture in  marginalized groups (Monroy, 2018). An
article written by Katherine Timpf (2017) stated that, since 2001, there have been indigenous groups
telling the United Nations to enforce laws that legally penalize people for misappropriating indigenous
cultures, specifically medicine, art, and dance. Even so, creating laws takes time because it needs to
consider ethics, and must take a balanced approach (Siems, 2019). According to Mathias Siems (2019),
there are three unethical considerations namely: through rejecting the culture’s phenomenon, by being
disrespectful to the culture, and the use of something in a culture by someone not of that culture
diminishes from the source the essence and tradition of where that culture came from. The public may be
ignorant of these cultures, but by creating laws or policies, it will educate the people to respect these
cultures from being appropriated thus, protecting and preserving these cultures from exploitation.
With the claims and counterclaims mentioned, the Artibus organization would conclude that
cultural appropriation in the fashion industry should give a proper credit to the culture. The organization
proposes strongly that there must be a negotiation between the people of the culture being used and the
businesses that want to use it to avoid having them be taken advantage of. There must also be a law or
policy that will ensure the protection of the culture of the indigenous people around the world. This will
not only benefit the rightful creators, but it will benefit society by bringing to the spotlight the different
cultures that have been overshadowed by “inspiration” with big companies claiming it to be their own.
Culture will not be (and should never be) considered a costume worn with ignorance for fashion trends
Culture is a positive identity marker that the inheritors can show with great pride. Cultural appropriation
may be an element to improve the development of the fashion industry but there must be a set condition
to the use of the inspiration or work which is giving the right credits to the culture and understanding its
significance to the culture’s history before using it. Artibus urges the public to think twice and do their
own research before following a trend, as it could be stolen from a culture and labeled as “inspiration” .
The organization would like to express its utmost gratitude for the readers time and consideration
and hopes that the points have been clearly written and understood.
Respectfully,

Arrieta, Angela Nicole D.C. Asis, Teresa Grace G.

Lopez, Ma. Bea Gabrielle B. Sagadraca, Margie Rose P.

Sy, Hanna J. Villamor, Lorraine Jasmine B.

Artibus Student Organization

References:

De Vera, E., Noriega, R., & Legaspi, J. (2019, August 3). How to wear your culture. Manila
Bulletin. https://mb.com.ph/2019/08/04/how-to-wear-your-culture/

Monroy, M.A., M.S. (2018). An Analysis of Cultural Appropriation in Fashion and Popular
Media. Baylor University.
https://baylor-ir.tdl.org/bitstream/handle/2104/10392/MONROY-THESIS-2018.pdf?
sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Vézina, B. (2019, April 3). Curbing Cultural Appropriation in the Fashion Industry. Centre for
International Governance Innovation. https://www.cigionline.org/publications/curbing-
cultural-appropriation-fashion-industry

Pozzo, B. (2020). Fashion between Inspiration and Appropriation. Laws, 9(1), 5.

https://doi.org/10.3390/laws9010005

BBC News. (2020, January 19). Comme Des Garçons: Row over white fashion models’ cornrow
wigs. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51166873

Pham, M. T. (2017, November 23). Unintentionally Eating the Other. Threadbared.

https://iheartthreadbared.wordpress.com/2011/09/12/unintentional-eating/

Phelan, H. (2015, September 12). Osklen Spring 2016 Ready-to-Wear Collection. Vogue.
https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2016-ready-to-wear/osklen

Showcase. (2020, January 30). Cultural Appropriation in the Creative Industry [Video].
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua-aZ_wZSRc

Timpf, K. (2017, June 16). A UN Committee Is Considering Making Cultural Appropriation

Illegal Worldwide. National Review. https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/06/united-
nations-cultural-appropriation-committee/

Siems, M. (2019, February 2). The Law and Ethics of “Cultural Appropriation.” SSRN.
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3531196