France – Mexico
Unusual cuts and patterns—but the ideas for the newest trends in fashion do not always come from the fashion houses’ own designers.
In 2019, French designer Isabel Marant and luxury textile company Luis Vuitton were accused of having lifted Indigenous patterns from Mexico for use in their own collections. The term applied in such cases is cultural appropriation: people from privileged societies appropriating the cultural goods of marginalized groups. While large fashion companies make millions in turnover from the practice, Indigenous communities are dispossessed of their collective, cultural heritage. The Indigenous communities in Mexico are fighting against the alienation of their cultural property and for their rights.
