Fashion Nova is accused of cultural appropriation for its Halloween geisha costume
Though most of us spend Halloween pondering over what to wear, how to make animal costumes look sexy and then eating copious amounts of candy, it seems to be a difficult time for some brands. Almost every year, one clothing company or another is accused of cultural appropriation and they seem to never learn. Fashion Nova is the latest line criticised by consumers who have complained about their geisha Halloween costume which they feel appropriates Japanese culture and makes a mockery out of an ancient civilisation. The costume includes hair sticks, a kimono, a skirt, and an obi (a belt-like sash worn across the stomach to tie the robe together), and to add insult to injury, Fashion Nova had initially misspelled geisha, instead writing ‘geshia’, which was later changed. Some publications have also reported that it was described as a ‘sexy’ geisha outfit but it no longer appears as such on the website.
‘It is harmful to create costumes based off of racial stereotypes because those costumes then reinforce harmful ideas and power dynamics. Stereotypes are symbols used to categorise other cultures into into one-dimensional ideas that often have little basis in reality. ‘If somebody grows up in an area where there are few if any Asians living nearby then representations such as this may be all they have to learn about people of Asian descent, because it is stereotypes of the Asian temptress that not only show up in Halloween costumes, but also television, film, and other forms of media. ‘If some people argue that costumes like this are cultural appreciation instead of appropriation, I would say there is nothing wrong with appreciating other cultures. Appreciation can come in many forms such as enjoying music, cuisine, and literature.
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