Cultural Appropriation and the Use of India Essay

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Khadi Amongst Western Design Students

Qualitative Study:

The ancient hand-woven cotton fabric has been described not only as a fabric but a philosophy and movement. The political leader Mahatma Gandhi viewed the use of khadi as a political act. By establishing the use of home-spun fabric in India, versus foreign textiles, he hoped to free India of foreign dependence on imports, which had been fostered during the colonial era (Selin, 1997, p. 961). Since these early origins, khadi has become embraced outside of India because of its unique texture and appearance as well as its association with traditional culture. Khadi became synonymous with self-sufficiency for Indians and a proud example of how they might embrace their culture through the use of traditional handicrafts. This proposed qualitative study of Western design students is designed to assess their uses of khadi and their perceptions of incorporating it into their work. Its central thesis was that by educating students about the history of khadi this would enable them to appreciate and use the fabric with greater awareness.

One concern within the fashion and design industry is the use and misuse of cultural appropriation, which "typically involves members of a dominant group exploiting the culture of less privileged groups -- often with little understanding of the latter's history, experience and traditions" (Nittle 2016). A good example of this is the use by Western designers in clothing manufacturing of traditional Eastern representations of geisha, saris, Native American designs, and other frequently-appropriated cultures.

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India is a complex culture and made up of many different ethnic groups, religions, and traditions, yet Western art often reduces it to a narrow set of images.

It is true that showcasing the fashions and styles of a different culture can have a very positive effect in terms of exposing a Western audience to new ideas, which they might not otherwise encounter had a designer not incorporated them into their work. But modern design students are understandably wary about being charged with misusing cultural artifacts in their own creations. By providing them with an education about why khadi has had such central, symbolic significance in Indian culture, a more intelligent use of the fabric in design is possible. Using the motifs and symbolism of a culture from the perspective of an outsider is not necessarily in and of itself problematic; it is how it is used that is questionable in many recent manifestations in fashion. For example, the fashion designer Valentino's 2016 spring display featured "tribal motifs, detailed knitting, embroidery, safari prints, feathers and more textures" worn by white models with cornrows (Fernandez 2015). The designs and fabrics which were used were primarily deployed for shock value and for visual interest, rather than to show respect for the culture they were supposed to represent and the show was highly criticized. In contrast, the designer Olympia Le-Tan's….....

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