With all the recent discussion surrounding cultural appropriation in fashion, you’d think brands and designers would be extra careful to avoid it—unfortunately, not all of them have gotten the message.
British fast-fashion retailer ASOS made a major faux pas last Wednesday when it tweeted out an image of Cara Delevingne wearing a tiny, single cornrow in her hair, saying, “Thanks to @Caradelevingne micro braids are a thing. Here’s how to work ‘em.”
Normally this would be all fine and dandy—Cara is known to be a major trendsetter, after all—except that Cara didn’t start this “trend” at all. As Racked has pointed out, Cara’s braid isn’t a micro braid at all. True micro braids actually involve wearing your entire head of hair in teeny, tight braids. Not only that, but actual micro braids have been worn for years by the likes of Beyoncé and Alicia Keys. (Oh, and they’ve been rocking the look for years.)
Unfortunately, it’s one of many instances lately of white celebrities getting credit for “starting a trend” that appropriates black culture. Luckily, Twitter immediately saw the problem here and responded to ASOS, setting them straight.
@asos Question… For the decades & centuries that black women rocked micro braids, they weren’t a “thing” until Cara Delevigne wore them?
— Toni Duclottni (@HouseOfHaute) April 20, 2016
After the backlash, ASOS has since deleted the tweet, and responded to many of its upset followers, apologizing for their mistake.
@CharmsInterlude Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have now removed this, and are really sorry for any offence caused.
— ASOS Here to Help (@ASOS_HeretoHelp) April 20, 2016
While the tweet was an unfortunate misstep on ASOS’s part, we just hope the brand can turn this into a learning experience – a culture doesn’t become a “trend” when someone outside of that culture wears it.