Professor Susan Scafidi, academic director of Fordham Law’s Fashion Law Institute, was quoted in a HuffPost Life article about what constitutes cultural appropriation.
Part of the blame lies with the fashion industry and its longtime obsession with the undifferentiated “East.” There are unique fashions from every Asian country, and from different groups within those countries ― Asians are not a monolith. But you might think otherwise based on Western designers’ flagrant use of the “Eastern” or “Oriental” aesthetic.
“In fashion, cultural appropriation can play out in not only sexualized stereotypes ― dragon-lady dominatrices and eager-to-please geishas ― but also the elision of style elements from completely different cultures and the treatment of Asian models as interchangeable props,” said Susan Scafidi, the founder and academic director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law School and the author of “Who Owns Culture?: Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law.”
There’s nothing wrong with paying homage to a culture you admire, but true appreciation entails some level of understanding and respect, Scafidi told HuffPost.
“When reaching into another culture’s closet, followers of fashion might keep in mind a really simple rule: Don’t turn a friend’s culture into a costume,” she said.