Immediately following their Swastika shoes gaffe, fashion brand Valentino created a stir on social media with its latest spring/summer 2016 collection shown in Paris.
The show's theme was African-inspired, which could have made for a beautiful collection. Instead, a runway full of cultural appropriation had white models sporting cornrows and dreaded locks, wearing outfits that were "tribal" and "primitive" (Valentino's words, not ours).
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Primitive, tribal, spiritual, yet regal #Valentino #SS16 live streaming from Paris on http://t.co/9kKzrVo1vx pic.twitter.com/WiZc6b6raD— Valentino (@MaisonValentino) October 6, 2015
Worse, the entire runway show lacked diversity. Only a handful of models were black, disappointing given the show was an homage to African culture.
It's like saying our culture looks better on white woman :/ not cool Valentino #culturalappropriation #PFWSS16— Djamila (@msmilaXO) October 7, 2015
y'all know i love valentino endlessly and i'm sure the collection is super nice still but i refuse 2 support the cultural appropriation— kirsty (@lhommewalk) October 6, 2015
Not gonna lie. I kinda hate the Valentino collection. Tip toeing the line of cultural appropriation.— Breanna (@thabreannashow) October 6, 2015
This, of course, is hardly the first time that any fashion brand was culturally insensitive. Earlier this summer, Junya Watanabe's men's collection took cultural appropriation to its limits, with white male models rocking dreads. It, too, was "inspired" by African culture.