Through the Looking Glass: 2015 Met Gala

This year the Metropolitan Museum hosted its annual gala, with the theme of the evening being, China, Through the Looking Glass. This event attracts celebrities far and wide, and their arrival is usually met with shock as they stroll down the red carpet showing off their outrageous outfits. The outfits this year were a hot mess to be quite honest.


First many of the celebrities
over sexualized their costumes, which then translated to the over sexualization of a culture. Again this goes back catching attention and personal benefits. Many stars want to turn heads at events like this but I believe many of these stars attracted the wrong kind of attention, by appropriating a culture's traditional clothing.

Stars like Sarah Jessica Parker wore an outrageous headdress to the Met Gala. With the sultry makeup emphasizing her eyes, she slinked through the red carpet capturing everyone's attention. 

When this picture took to twitter, many cried cultural appropriation. I see how this feed into the stereotypes, but I also see how it is completely stunning. 

Lady Gaga also rolled into the Met with an offensive outfit. The offensive mostly stemmed from the fact that she wore a kimono to a Chinese themed event. Kimono are tradition Japanese gowns, not Chinese.

I loved Rihanna's dress, and personally I didn't not find any fault, however I know that some still took offense. Her dress was made by a well-known Chinese designer, Guo Pei. By wearing a dress by a designer who is not well known in the West, she is placing this designer on the map. Also the dress resembles the capes that emperors would wear, so she is also twisting gender norms, showing herself as a women in power. Pretty cool in my opinion. 

just for your enjoyment:)  

Analyzing Music Videos: Extreme Fashion or Extreme Cultural Appropriation

Today we have seen so many artist use black culture to sell their music. To make themselves "hip" and "cool", they take from this culture and repurpose it into something that will benefit them. Below, you'll see pictures of Kesha and Katy Perry in popular music videos. Music, and clothing is a form of expression but these artists use these mediums in a fashion to reach out to a wider audience. They use certain hairstyles, gestures, words to seem "cool".

Some also use other cultures as a fantasyland, creating a world whether anything can happen by using "exotic" pieces to imply they are in a far off world. Instead of recognizing that this world is actually a real place, they reduce it to its stereotypes. 

TV Phenomenon: Kylie Jenner

The Kardashians are famous for many things. Their outlandish lifestyles, their reality television show and their beauty. Unfortunately, they are also known for appropriating black culture, especially younger sister, Kylie Jenner. She has done done many different hairstyles that have pushed the boundaries, and raised questions.


Recently, she posted an Instagram picture that tipped the scale.

This photo depicts Kylie Jenner with significantly darker skin, which reminded a lot people of "blackface". Blackface is a form theatrical makeup that transformed white actors into the "token black person". It allowed other races to step into the skin of another and write stereotypes, publicizing them through the theater. To me, Kylie is doing the same thing. Whether she wants to realize it or not, she is stepping into the skin of another race by surgically enlarging her lips and painting her skin. She is publicizing the "norms" and adhering to stereotypes, and dragging a whole generation down with her. 

Cornrows

Cornrow braiding is an ancient African practice. As you all know, this blog focuses on various issues surrounding cultural appropriation and today we will be looking at the practice of cornrow braiding hair. Cornrows have been a staple in the African  American community, being  the hair style that was fashionable and functional. 

Cornrows offer an alternative besides the conforming to the "white" norm. So many African-Americans have been groomed to think that kinky hair is unattractive. In the 1860s, black women with hair that resembled a white women's hair were more likely to get jobs, get accepted into schools and so on. Society was fashioned to degrade, and dehumanize. 

We have come a long way, but our society still categorizes what is "ok" and what is not. In a LA Times fashion article  it was made clear that cornrows were the in thing, but only in a setting where a majority of the participants are white. 

Jon Reyman, a seasoned hair stylist, stated that "Cornrows are moving away from urban, hip-hop to more chic and edgy" (Schmidt). The use of cornrows on the runway, as trend that seems to be "newly discovered" is highly offensive. To take a style that historically lived with another people and culture and turn it into something supposedly "better", is a direct violation of the respect of another culture. 

 

     Schmidt, Ingrid. "Head-turning Hair Fashions for Fall: Bangs, Rows and Tails." Los Angles Times. Los Angles Times, 20 Sept. 2014. Web. 

"History of Cornrow Braiding." History of Cornrow Braiding. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2015.
"A Look Back at the Black Hair Story." NaturallyCurly. TextureMedia, 12 Feb. 2009. Web. 21 May 2015. 

Personal Style - As Seen At Vassar

Welcome to the wonderful world of Chiara, a freshman at Vassar College!

She agreed that clothing can express a person's personality and their hobbies. "For me, I always wear things that I'm comfortable in," Chiara explained "I stick to the things that I like".

What is style is you? Is it important to "have style"?

"Yes! I think everyone has a journey with their style, and it takes a while to find whats right for you. We've all gone through those different phases. Once you find what you're comfortable with and what you like wearing, it's a way to express yourself and a make statement to those who haven't met you before."

Personal Style - As Seen At Vassar

The second segment of looking at different expressions of personal style, features Tilhenn Klapper, a student at Vassar College.

 "I don't think I have specific style, and I don't think I identify myself with a specific style", Tilhenn explained on the sweltering afternoon, as we strolled around outside Kenyon Hall.

"I just think that since I was a able to choose my own clothes I wanted to wear things that are different from other people and I learned how to sew when I was in middle school because I didn't want to have to buy the other clothes everyone else was wearing. For me it's not enjoying a specific style, but enjoying wearing things that are different from what I usually see."

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"I think that a garment can say a lot. I believe in the political power of clothes. I created a fashion activist group in Paris, that makes people aware of global issues through the garments without blatantly spelling them out. We take second hand clothing, and creating a line based on a theme like the differentiation of Indonesia and making that issue appear in the clothing, artistically."

Personal Style - As Seen At Vassar

This is a series inspired by my fellow students at Vassar College. A part of my project that will analyze personal style within Vassar culture, its definition and its message/impact on the wearer and the observer.

For the first segment of this series I plan to look at clothing as a feminist/political statement. This segment features Georgia Kerr, a freshman at Vassar college, as she expresses her personal style, and what she tries to communicate with her clothes. 

One of the first questions we discussed was "What can clothing say?". We talked about the various different elements clothing is able to expand upon, like personality and personal preferences.  "It can say anything about you," Georgia explained, expressing the unlimited capabilities of clothes.

Well, what about functionality? Georgia mentioned her love of showing skin, and the question I posed was: For you, is showing a lot of skin comfort or political?

"I think it's a little bit of both," Georgia responded "Part of it is me trying to make a statement of like 'say something I you dare' and kind of like I like myself so why not show it off in the way that I would want to. Everyone shows off what they like about themselves in different ways, and for me I like wearing shorts and crops tops. It makes me more comfortable".