Criticizing Cultural Appropriation Practice In One Fashion Campaign
- Macy Wallace
- Sep 25
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 6
One fashion campaign criticized for cultural appropriation is Dsquared2’s collection, “#Dsquaw”. The line received a lot of backlash for its name, “#Dsquaw”, which is a derogatory term towards Indigenous women, essentially calling them a “whore”. This is not just derogatory but has also been historically used to dehumanize and sexualize Indigenous women, a practice rooted in colonial violence. This has historically led to the ignorance of missing Native women and the increase of hate crimes carried out by European colonizers. The hashtag was intended to be trendy, but in reality, it turned a dark and painful history into a marketing gimmick.
The clothing line features a mix of what designers Dan and Dean Caten call “The enchantment of Canadian Indian tribes. The confident attitude of the British aristocracy.”. This vague combination demonstrates a lack of understanding of the cultural identities of Indigenous people. The notion of blending the elements of Indigenous culture with that of European fashion insinuates that the culture can be picked apart, “improved”, and used for profit. This also ignores the deep history of colonization between Europeans and Indigenous people and the disastrous effect it had on the Indigenous communities. By picking apart Native elements and reducing them into items that are easily digestible and blendable with European fashion, the campaign reinforces the idea that Indigenous identities can be owned and reshaped by a dominant culture.
The collection by Dsquared2 featured a variety of sacred Native regalia, which has a deep spiritual and social meaning to these communities. By reducing these garments to mere fashion symbols, the company completely disregards the history behind the elements that have so much sense to the appropriate group. This also repeats the history of Europeans ignoring the value behind the attire of Indigenous communities, which heightens the mindset of cultural domination that Europeans historically embrace.
For the campaign to feature white models ostracizes the entire group of people whose culture is being used for fashion. The lack of Indigenous representation adds to the appropriation because it reinforces the narrative that European culture can pick apart other cultures and depict them as “exotic” without actually involving Indigenous people.
Designers Dan and Dean Caten apologized for the name of the fashion line, but critics argue that this is even more controversial, because the problem is much more than just the name. As mentioned before, the line used several harmful cultural stereotypes to portray the line as new and exotic, without giving care to the impact on Indigenous people. In doing so, the brand sends a message that it is okay to do this, which could be harmful to Native communities in the future. This also markets the brand as ignorant and selfish, and this is embellished with the lack of a proper apology.
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