Cultural Appropriation in Fashion and Entertainment

By Yuniya Kawamura and Jung Whan Marc De Jong

Is it ever acceptable to “borrow” culturally inspired ideas? Who has ownership over intangible culture? What role does power inequality play? These questions are often at the center of heated public debates around cultural appropriation, with new controversies breaking seemingly every day.

Cultural Appropriation in Fashion and Entertainment offers a sociological perspective on the appropriation of race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and religion embedded in clothing, textiles, jewelry, accessories, hairstyles, and tattoos, as well as in entertainment, such as K-pop, Bhangra, and hip-hop.

By providing a range of global perspectives on the adoption, adaptation, and application of both tangible and intangible cultural objects, Kawamura and de Jong help move the conversation beyond simply criticizing designers and creators to encourage nuanced discussion and raise awareness of diverse cultures in the creative industries.

Yuniya Kawamura is a Professor of Sociology at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City. She is the author of Doing Research in Fashion and Dress (2011), Fashioning Japanese Subcultures (2012), and Sneakers (2016).

Jung-Whan Marc de Jong is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City.

Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2022, softcover, 6.15 x 9.15 inches, 240 pages.