The topic of cultural appropriation has always been a very sensitive topic as there have been many cases of celebs being accused of cultural appropriation in their art. Local artists have not been exempted from this as one Malaysian actress was previously accused of exploiting a certain culture for profit.
It seems that a fashion designer was also recently accused of the same thing after his fashion show featured designs heavily inspired by one of the indigenous groups in Malaysia. Here’s what happened:
Over the weekend, the CIMB ARTOBER FASHION WEEK 2023 was held at Hall 1, MITEC, Kuala Lumpur. The event featured a collaboration between designer Anuar Faizal and KERETAPI SARONG 23 by Locco. The show focused on Anuar’s latest designs that were inspired by the Mah Meri tribe, an ethnic group native to the western part of Peninsular Malaysia.
Although the fashion show went smoothly, many did not appreciate how the culture was represented. As seen in the screenshots above, netizens took to Twitter and Instagram to call out the designer for cultural appropriation. Some accused the public figure and organiser of exploiting the Mah Meri mask, an indigenous ceremonial object, as a costume for fashion.
Others pointed out the significance of the tribe’s mask and why it should not be worn and paraded around just in the name of fashion. For your information, ever since the announcement of the fashion show late last month, netizens have questioned if the Digital Fashion Week owner has actually consulted the people of the ethnic group. Some even asked if the people of the Mah Meri tribe were actually involved in the project.
Anuar Faizal quickly responded to the allegations, denying the accusation of cultural appropriation. The fashion designer shared several IG stories to address some of the accusations. In a few posts, the garment maker asked the accusers to do a fact-check on his latest collection and what it represents before slandering him. He also clarified that indigenous models were hired to showcase the new collection.
In a video posted yesterday (9th October), Anuar addressed that he spent 3 years working closely with the people of the Mah Meri tribe and their leader. He even thanked the Orang Asli Art & Culture organisation for sharing their culture and the indigenous models for representing the tribe at the fashion show. “Ethical fashion is important for us as we always support and endorse buying directly from makers and creators to create something new and upcycle our national treasure,” he wrote.
However, some are still not convinced as they believe both the designer and event organiser did not properly carry out their research to truly showcase the actual art and culture of the Mah Meri tribe. What do you think about this whole thing? Was it actually cultural appropriation or were netizens overreacting?
