Articles

Considering the Topic of "Cultural Appropriation" in the Fashion Industry (Takashi Ieda)

2023.01.14

In recent years, the term "cultural appropriation" has appeared more frequently in fashion-related news. Generally, it refers to the act of appropriating elements from a specific culture by individuals from other cultural spheres.

For example, in 2022, "Junya Watanabe Man" faced criticism from the Mexican Ministry of Culture for appropriating the traditional Mexican textile design called "Serape" in their 2022-23 Autumn/Winter collection, which is still fresh in memory.

While Junya Watanabe Man sought cooperation from the Ministry of Culture, they allegedly unveiled the collection before reaching a negotiation agreement, leading to criticism of their actions as "unethical."

Therefore, we spoke with Professor Takashi Ieda from Nanzan University Department of Law to discuss the issue of cultural appropriation in the fashion industry, its background, and how we should confront these challenges.

PROFILE

Takashi Ieda

Professor of Law, Nanzan University
After graduating from Nagoya University Department of Law, I completed coursework at the doctoral program in the Graduate School of Law at the same university.
Before assuming my current position, I was a professor at the Konan University Graduate School of Accounting. My specialties are corporate law and commercial law.

Notable works include Ieda's "ファッションに関連する文化流用と差別表現" published in Nanzan Law Review, Vol. 44, No. 2 (2021).

Could you tell us what prompted you to begin your research on cultural appropriation?

I originally researched corporate law, but I had the opportunity to conduct research at Fordham University in New York, which led me to start exploring a new theme.

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