Christy Lorio: Appreciation or Appropriation? Urban Outfitters tips the scales

Christy Lorio (photo by Leslie Almeida)

In the fashion world, designers constantly gain inspiration from various cultures and time periods, generally going unnoticed until someone steps out of line and heads towards the irreverent. Have your ever worn a kimono, kente cloth, or a pair of moccasins? If so, you borrowed an aesthetic and cultural reference from another ethnicity, intentionally or not. So what’s so inappropriate about a little cultural borrowing if we all do it from time to time? Similar to buying a New Orleans voodoo doll made in China, the differences between appreciation vs. appropriation are often blurry for those unfamiliar with the culture.

Recently, Urban Outfitters found itself in the midst of controversy when they released a multi-product line with traditional Native American patterns printed on everything: handbags, t-shirts, underwear, even flasks were described as Navajo. While this might not be newsworthy to most, it was a serious matter to the Navajo Nation, whose name is trademarked to prevent such incidents from occurring. A cease-and-desist letter was sent and the company eventually backed down and removed the word Navajo from their products, replacing it with the ambiguous description “printed fabric.”

Local Twitter aficionado Champ Superstar is an outspoken Native American who brought forth some important points about this bastardization of sacred imagery for the sake of being trendy.  “The issue being ignored here is that things like patterns and colors are meaningful to the Navajo and other Indian nations,” Champ says. “Sexualizing them on articles like underwear undermines the Navajo value of modesty and displaying them on items like flasks trivializes the real problem of alcoholism amongst Native Americans. Most people don’t know that a lot of tribes ban alcohol on their reservations and at events.”

Of course, Native Americans must gain inspiration for their designs from somewhere right? The difference between a chain-store knockoff and an artisan-made product lies in respect for the original source. I asked Roy Burst, a Louisiana Choctaw American Indian who creates jewelry through his company Choctaw Silverworks, where the inspiration for some of these traditional Native American designs comes from.

“I will be the first to admit that my art is influenced, whether consciously or subconsciously by images I’ve seen in the past such as patterns, architecture, cultural items and landscapes,” he replied. “I want my art to stand out as original in concept and form and would never copy any body’s name or their work.”

Burst points out that the Navajo themselves borrowed the naja, a symbol of good luck and the centerpiece pendant for their famous squash blossom necklace — which is identical to old horse headstall ornaments of the Moors. The most obvious difference between the Navajo borrowing symbols vs. a fast fashion retailer doing it is not using another culture’s name for profit and taking inspiration in a more reverent manner.

So how far do we go? Are we afraid to wear anything borrowed from other cultures in the fear of offending an our neighbor, let along an entire tribe? As a collector of Native American jewelry I’d suggest seeking out authentic products and take the time to figure out what is considered offensive before you wear it. Champ Superstar points out that a lot of ceremonial dress gets dumbed down into cheap Halloween costumes. For example headdresses, blankets, and necklaces are often used in sacred rites, not play-time dress up.  “We want to be able to share these things with the world,” Champ states “but unfortunately the cost of doing so is dealing with these fashion idiots who have no understanding of atrocity or empathy toward plight.”

Christy Lorio, a native New Orleanian, writes on fashion at slowsouthernstyle.com and is also a freelance writer whose work has been featured online and in print magazines both locally and nationally.