As our original inspiration was cultural exchange, I decided to research brands in the fashion industry who have done cultural appreciation successfully, but also ones who have appropriated different cultures.
One of the most glaringly obvious cases of cultural appropriation (and honestly, overt racism and sexism as well) was Dolce & Gabbana’s 2018 Shanghai fashion show, which ended up needing to be cancelled due to racist and sexist marketing.
A video shared by the brand before the show was criticized for being degrading towards Chinese culture. The model was eating italian food with chopsticks, and many Chinese people were offended, saying it trivialized their culture, due to the nature of the filming of the video.
Later on, screenshots from the Instagram account of Domenico Dolce revealed degrading and racist private messages about China.
The brand claimed that the accounts were hacked, but overall the entire execution of the show was poor. Maybe if the company had decided to collaborate with Chinese designers, the execution would have been more appropriate and successful in appreciating Chinese culture, rather than imposing their culture and brand onto another culture.
Citation
Ana Colón. “Everything You Need to Know About Dolce & Gabbana’s Canceled Shanghai Fashion Show”. Glamour. < https://www.glamour.com/story/dolce-and-gabbana-canceled-shanghai-fashion-show >. [13 September 2019].
Samantha's RCA Process 