One of my favorite fashion houses, Louis Vuitton, recently launched their SS09 line. I remember getting a sneak peek at this line as I shopped one day this past winter. I was being helped by a black sales assistant and he was all too eager to show me the new things that LV had in the works. As he flipped through the look book and landed on this upcoming line I was immediately taken aback by the name... the "ethnic" collection..... yeah, my sentiments exactly. :-/
But the sales assistant wasn't phased in the least. I asked him why they called it the ethnic line and he said because it was inspired by Africa. smdh....
Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE most of the designs in this collection but I just couldn't stomach how just because they were using rich colors and interesting textiles... all of a sudden it was "African" lmao...
I take it I wasn't the only one bothered by this. My good friend Wendi Muse (shout ot to Dewey & Leboeuf LLP) took a deeper look into the twisted psychology of the world of fashion and how they keep stereotypes alive through design. Actually her beef was moreso with the writer of an article that was recently featured in the New York Times entitled: "African Influence on the Runway" and his ignorance in describing the work.
Check out Wendi's article on Racialicious here:
http://www.racialicious.com/2009/04/23/fashion-and-patronizing-colonial-rhetoric-take-758080/
And here are some of the controversial pieces below:
DISCLAIMER: Please do not consider me a hypocrite if you see me at an event near you shutting the block down in my new Spicy Sandals lol... I said I LOVE the designs, just a bit skeptical on the motives.
To all my beautiful and brainy fashionistas out there please feel free to leave a coment and share your thoughts on this issue. Do you agree with Wendi's analysis or do you think it's just not that serious...
4 comments:
So there's no confusion on where I stand, I don't think it's a big deal at all (and since none of the followers have posted any comments, not even the controversial Conspiracy Theory Ty, they agree with me). I'm prepared to elaborate on why I don't but first I'd like to know what your stance on the "issue" is. I'm not clear on this because you can't stomach the reasoning behind naming the line but you would consider overlooking that terrible injustice and copping because they're just that hot. "Is it black girl lost or shorty owe you for ice?"
lol @ you coming at Ty like that. And don't assume that they agree with you Jermaine...
Did you take a look at Wendi's article on Racilicious?... just as she explains "I love the design, just hate the words!" hence my disclaimer.
I guess you can say it's a matter of shorty playing the hand that she's dealt.
I can't rename the line, and I haven't seen a knock-off version with a less offensive name, therefore I am left with no option (of course I could not buy the shoe altogether, which seems to be the direction I am going in anyway). My issue is this... why is this line "Out of Africa"? Since when did Africa and all its various countries, regions, tribes, languages and cultures become one big lumped together marginalized entity that deserves no further observation. To me, that just goes to show you that alot of these writers (and designers for that matter) are no more enlightened today that in the past on issues of the diaspora.
First, I had no idea what diaspora meant, not even sure if I'm pronouncing it correctly. I googled it and became enlightened. While I don't see the connection thanks for educating I. If not "Out of Africa" what else would it be called? When I looked at all the pieces (the ones you chose to post are ill) on your blog and on your friends article I immediately thought that's some African $#!+. Yes Africa is a continent made up of many countries, home to diverse cultures and unique people, "spicy" colors...blah blah blah. Point is no matter how much you break it down it still falls under "Out of Africa". You can look at each piece and see the very appearant "African" influence. America is made up of people from all over the world; continents, countries, islands, cities, blah blah blah. On forms that ask for your race they have us all grouped in about 5 categories. Call a puertorican a mexican and you could lose your life, but they still have to check the same block. You're not from Africa so do you don your beret and grab your AK everytime you have to check that Afro-American box? Even If each piece was influenced by a different country on the continent the broad heading "Out of Africa" fitting. When you see that dude on the street with the multicolred man dress and dusty feet in his sandals selling oils and insense do you think "African" or do you go deeper and think Ethiopian or Nigerian or Ugandan or...(you can keep it real with me, I won't tell)? with I read a lot of the responses on the link to the article posted and I found 1 or 2 of them to be based on an original thought, the rest were thoughtless regurgitations of the writers own views. I hope Gucci decides to throw a Tiki mask on a pair of hard bottoms for the fall so I can be in the club straight "Out of Africa" with Ty on my arm. I know I made light of the "issue" on a number of occasions but it's because it really isn't that serious. I know all too well that there are real issues out there and I'll be right there holding up my black fist beside Ty on the couch at home listening to the revolution on the radio since she says it won't b televised. All that said...I dig your style and look forward to the next topic of discussion.
Points definitely well taken Jermaine! thanks so much for sharing...
Post a Comment