Production & Suppliers

Celebrating Indigenous Fashion And Culture

CO looks at the thorny issue of cultural appropriation and discusses best practice when it comes to working with indigenous artisans.

Sometimes it can seem as if artisan groups around the world are facing a losing battle with the wider fashion industry when it comes to their traditional designs through cultural appropriation. Either their work is dismissed as ‘too ethnic’, ‘too hippy’ or the designs are copied without permission.

But they are fighting back. The Mixe people of Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec considered legal action against Isabel Marant in 2015 over a red embroidered blouse which led to a storm of media attention.…

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Author
Clare Lissaman

Head of Oxfam Advisory Services at Oxfam and 3 others