Tone deaf Luxury brands coming under fire for cultural appropriation
appears to be a regular occurrence in 2019. The latest controversy comes
via Dior, who removed a Native American- inspired campaign for its Sauvage
fragrance from its digital channels nearly as quickly as it was posted
online.
First announced on its Twitter account, Dior on Friday said its new
campaign is “an authentic journey deep into the Native American soul in a
sacred, founding and secular territory”. But as controversy ensued, the
French luxury house faced a backlash for being insensitive and deleted the
ad.
Dior subsequently issued a statement and behind the scenes making-of video
to support its notion of building awareness of Indigenous peoples. But like
Prada, Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana, luxury brands are being called out for
cultural insensitivity and misrepresentation when they mix other folklore,
customs and civilisations to promote their products. Despite having
considerable resources for publishing slick, top of the market campaigns,
they don’t always get it right.
The Sauvage ad stars controversial Hollywood actor Johnny Depp, who is seen
dressed in a poncho, playing guitar, in a bid “to capture the spirit of
Native America,” Dior said of its campaign. Elsewhere a dancer dressed in
traditional Native attire dances to a beating drum, with a narrator
iterating “We are the land. Dior.”
Offensive and disturbing
“The ‘Sauvage’ campaign released by Dior today is offensive, racist and
cultural appropriation at its worst by a corporation that is exploiting
Native peoples and culture for profit,” Crystal Echohawk, executive
director of IllumiNative, a Native American advocacy group, told BoF. “This
is a company that is looking to profit from advancing a harmful stereotype
about Native people.”
Click Here: Geelong Cats Guernsey
I find it deeply disturbing when brands force Native people to make
the choice between stereotypes and misrepresentation, or utter
invisibility.
“It is so deeply offensive and racist,” Crystal Echo Hawk, CEO of the media
watchdog group IllumiNative told the Guardian. “I don’t know how anyone in
2019 can think a campaign like this can go down well.”
Criticism
Dior’s use of Native American imagery alongside the fragrance name of
Sauvage, or savage in English, has drawn plenty of criticism, with Native
Americans often having been falsely labeled as ‘savages’. The unfortunate
translation comes despite Dior consulting with indigenous advocacy
organization Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO) to ensure the campaign
was culturally sensitive and non offensive.
In a statement, Parfums Christian Dior said the company is “very proud of
this collaboration with AIO,” describing it as part of the organisation’s
campaign to “change the misperceptions about Native Americans, to share
accurate American history, to build awareness about Native Americans as
contemporary peoples and to promote Indigenous worldviews.”
“As soon as we began to evoke Native American imagery and symbols in this
new film, the House of Dior, Jean-Baptiste Mondino and Johnny Depp
immediately decided to contact Native American consultants who are enrolled
citizens of the Comanche, Isleta and Taos Pueblos and the Pawnee Nation,
with years of experience fighting cultural appropriation and promoting
authentic inclusion.”
This is not the first time Dior has been accused of cultural
misrepresentation. Last year the Maison came under fire for a campaign that
aimed to celebrate Mexican culture. Having shot the ad in California with
caucasion actress Jennifer Lawrence, it highlighted a distinctive lack of
Mexican heritage and authenticity.
Photos: Dior Facebook