Still thinking on appropriation. My thought is that there has to be a space where you can be inspired by the world around you. There is a space for blatant mimicry. There is also a space where you can manipulate what you see around you as a form of commentary. That is the space I think Demna Gvalsia occupies.
In the Guardian, Gvalsia had this to say on the question of appropriation. He was asked about his clear copy of a Margiela staple, Tabi shoe, which he incorporated into this own collection.
“I put the Tabi in because I wanted to directly address the issue of appropriation. What is a source, what is an influence, what is a copy? The answers are difficult to define.”
I remember when he came under fire for selling a pair of sweatpants with an attached boxer looking waistband, giving the wearer the look of sagging pants. There cries from many that this was blatant cultural appropriation. Here he was profiting off of this image, with many rich people able to get away with this look that led many young Black men to be unfairly profiled by authorities.
And then again, I recall more recently, memes abounded when Balenciaga began selling a bag made to look like a Tesco supermarket shopping bag and then again for an IKEA bag replica. The ridiculousness of selling a luxury bag replica when you could get the real thing for free! Clear appropriation, taking the image of the less fortunate yet again for profit. I, however, felt like there had to be something deeper. I highly doubted that was all there was. This seemed like commentary on culture.
If you haven’t heard of him, there is a YouTuber by the name of Bliss Foster. He does a lot of in-depth analysis of runway shows, collections, and designers over all. One of the pieces he did was an analysis of of Gvalsia’s work at Vetements, going into depth on the meanings of many of the pieces. I highly recommend the channel. I have linked that particular video here.
Having watch the videos and learn more about the fashion world, it led me to believe that many of the choices that Gvalsia makes are his way of re-presenting things that we have taken for granted. Yes clearly his brand is making money. But by taking things that are often overlooked or snubbed, and then charging luxury prices, he forces those who are keen to rethink their original assumptions. If you mistrust the wearer of sagging pants or look down on the person who carts around a plastic shopping bag with all of their possessions, why is that? What does that actually say about you? On the flip side, does this expensive price tag now make these things more acceptable to you? This is appropriation, taking an item for gain, but it is also a re-presentation.
In his interview with WWD, he points to the French artist, Marcel Duchamp. Bringing that artist into the discussion brought to the conversation the idea of the readymade, or taking ordinary objects already in the world and declaring them works of art.
So I wonder, how do we as a collective do this well, in way that leads to greater exploration of ideas and perspectives? How can we allow fashion to help us question our view of the world? I’m not sure. But if we look at fashion critically, we too can shift how we look at the ordinary things of life, how we view and value other people. The questions is, how do we get there without causing harm along the way?
Sources and references
Cartner-Morely, J. (February 6, 2018). ‘I don’t think elegance is relevant’: Vetements’ Demna Gvasalia, the world’s hottest designer. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/feb/06/i-dont-think-elegance-is-relevant-vetements-demna-gvasalia-the-worlds-hottest-designer
WWD Staff. (February 26, 2019). Demna Gvasalia on Appropriation, ‘Ugly’ Sneakers and the Curse of Pre-collections. WWD. https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/demna-gvasalia-talks-appropriation-ugly-sneakers-and-the-curse-of-pre-collections-1203001305/
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