March 19, 2018
A is for Approval- Avoid approving any media campaigns marketing to, for or with POC without a POC (who feels safe to be honest) in the room. B is for Black Twitter- Black Twitter is cultural appropriation kryptonite. Unlike in the past, when designs could be stolen by bigger and wealthier brands without notice or recourse, Black Twitter is always watching and they will call you out. C is for Cite Your Sources- As stated by Dario Calmese in his @BOF article, culture is erased when top fashion brands profit from pieces “inspired” by small, minority fashion designers without giving credit. D is for Diversity Directors: H&M just got one. Google and Apple have them too. Every company, large and small, needs someone who is paid to keep companies and their staff accountable to being inclusive, fair and culturally sensitive. E is for Edges- Leave them to the (black hair) professionals. F is for Find Meaning: Find out why people wear what they wear AND what it means to them. The more an article of clothing means to the community, the less likely you can get away with making it just another trend. G is for Global: This isn’t an American problem, nor is the outrage. The H&M ad was marketed by their British division, featured a black boy living in Sweden with his Kenyan parents, and inspired South African protesters to trash their stores. H is for Hair- is a critical part of black fashion. Cultural appropriation has come in the form of cornrows, box braids, afros and dreadlocks. For years WOC were programmed to (self) hate the natural kinkiness of our hair, but now that we have reclaimed it, stay clear of copying our hair. I is for Inclusion: Inclusion means that there are no campaigns a POC isn’t appropriate for. We live everywhere, we wear everything, we buy everything. We are everything. J is for Journalistic Integrity: Fashion journalists do your research. Avoid trolling for clickbait by attributing a trend to someone rich and white, just because it isn’t “sexy” that its already been done by someone poor and black. K is for Kardashians: They win the prize for most offenses. Don’t @ me. L is for Listen: Listen to the communities you use for inspiration. And that means you need to actually talk to them and heed their opinions, even if it means bad things for your profit margin. M is for Melanin: If a Model has it before the photo shoot, they should have it after the Photoshop N is for Nuances: There are nuances behind why people wear what they wear. If you copy their style without truly understanding them, you undermine and destroy the significance, impact and value of that particular practice/object/tradition. You reduce them to oversimplified stereotypes. No bueno. O is for One Dimensional: This is how cultures are portrayed when coopted by fashion brands that don’t fully understand them. These interpretations never read as inspired, rather they are easily revealed to