Appropriation

I attended LV Dance Collective, 5th Season "Appropriate" piece a few months ago in San Francisco, CA which had me stumped walking out (a must see performance). I suddenly looked at the world differently and realized, that everything isn't what it seems, or is it? On one hand fashion is iconic on another it barrows and or takes from a people a culture etc. At the same time in the US anyway, we have the freedom of speech and expression. On the other hand it can often come with a reaction, retaliation, a fine, incarceration, ridicule... You name it... A couple months went buy when I had received a box of "Gawan Kaky" chocolate from a friend whom had just returned from Turkey I wasn't sure what was in the chocolate for it was written in a language unfamiliar to me. So I googled "Gawan Kaky" and came across images of clothing. I clicked around on several of the images when I came across an article in The Guardian called, "Chola Style". After reading it I noticed it was written in 2014. And also noticed that much of nothing had changed. In fact the subject of Appropriation continues to come up in Celebrity life, fashion, and music. The subject appears and often alongside people who have platforms and outlets to large audience to evoke change, not to mention they have people surrounding them that should know better and get paid to do so. It's like having a Fair Trade label on your product, it lends itself to being a respected amongst consumers because of what it stands for. If were talking about this from a business perspective, brand is everything so if you can keep people and planet in mind, profits follow. So to the Rihanna, and Kylie Jenner's who have made the mistake of Appropriation, be human, use your platforms and drive the change!