Singer Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty fashion line has stirred an online debate around cultural appropriation after models wore what appeared to be in braids during the label’s lingerie show.
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On Friday, the singer’s third Savage X Fenty fashion show was released on Amazon, with stars such as Gigi Hadid, Adriana Lima, Vanessa Hudgens and Emily Ratajkowski walking the runway in the brand’s lingerie.
Soon after the show was aired, many viewers shared concerns over the hairstyles chosen for some of the models, as Ratajkowski and Hudgens both wore their hair in braids during the event, sparking a conversation about the appropriation of Black culture.
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“I wish I could write something as funny as putting all these white girls in braids for the Fenty show,” tweeted comedian and television writer Raina Morris, reports the Guardian.com.
Dylan Ali wrote: “I love the Fenty show but I think we need a trigger warning for seeing this many white women in braids.”
While the singer received backlash from one section, others defended her and the lingerie brand.
“It is *not* cultural appropriation to wear braids,” one person posted on Twitter.
“Braids have existed in ALL cultures since BC times. They don’t belong to anyone!! Everyone tries to find ways to manage long hair, and braids are a no-brainer. No one can rightfully claim ownership here,” another one wrote.
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In the past too, Rihanna has been accused of cultural appropriation over her Savage X Fenty fashion shows. The 33-year-old apologised last year after criticism over the use of the track Doom by Coucou Chloe, which used vocal samples of an Islamic hadith.
At the time, the Fenty founder apologised for the “honest, yet careless mistake” and thanked the “Muslim community for pointing out a huge oversight that was unintentionally offensive”.
