Yet again, a Kardashian has cocked up and caused an outcry amid claims of cultural appropriation.
This time, its 32-year-old Khloé Kardashian who’s getting heat for wearing a multi-coloured wig of dreadlocks.
The professional nobody tweeted a photo of herself wearing a wig from a Marc Jacobs runway show in which her sister Kendall was walking, because – being lemmings – if one Kardashian does a thing, they all fucking follow.
See me try the hottest beauty looks from the Spring runway shows ? https://t.co/TaaKzm1lRN
— Khloé (@khloekardashian) October 31, 2016
Khloé used the image to promote a new post on her pointless blog Khloé With A K which professes to be about ‘Spring’s hottest beauty trends’.
The actual post is behind a paywall, because Kommercialism. I would like to think she explained her fashion choice in the post, but somehow, I doubt it. After all, the Kardashians knwo better than anyone that a picture is worth a thousand words.
Many people have since called Khloé out for appropriating black culture, saying she has repackaged an important part of their style flippantly, as you would a novelty.
Black culture isn't a fucking fashion trend, STOP
— reptilian bitch (@sarahruss91) October 31, 2016
In answer to Khloé’s self-aggrandising and vain question, ‘How do I look?’, one user had a cold response, using a GIF of her very own sister to deliver the blow:
— ㅤ (@94truman) October 31, 2016
One Tweeter even accused Khloé of stealing as he weighed in on the debate:
https://twitter.com/FRIEDR1CE/status/793109802947706880
Other commentators pointed out that cultures don’t necessarily ‘own’ anything, amid the global cultural exchange that happens everyday.
No one owns a culture, all cultures borrow from each other. Stop looking to be offended.
— chris porter (@cporter2210) November 1, 2016
These pastel-coloured dreads have already caused controversy, after they were debuted as an accessory on Marc Jacobs’ runway.
People were angry that Jacobs has asked white models to wear the wigs, when he could have easily hired black models who wouldn’t need fake dreads to walk in his show, thus redressing some of the systematic racial bias in the fashion industry.
The fashion designer was forced to defend his hair styling choices, which he required his models of all racial backgrounds to wear, including a number of recognisable faces such a Jourdan Dunn, Gigi Hadid, and her little sister Bella.
With the surrounding debate about cultural appropriation in fashion still raging, Khloé could used her few brain cells to predict the selfie would be unpopular, but that didn’t stop her from pressing send and raking in attention from the media backlash.
It seems this family don’t care about offending anyone and subsequently creating a twitter whirlwind of reactions.
In fact, they revel in it as we all despair because we can see right through their bullshit.
GIPHYBut in the context of fashion, an industry built on the global exchange of ideas and styles are Khloe’s misguided actions racist or just plain dumb?
This incident is perhaps an outlet for people who are rightly angry at the lack of diversity in the fashion industry to vent their frustrations – particularly as they are directed at such an easy target; a careless and crass Kardashian.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.