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Cultural appropriation has become a phenomenon with which design plagiarism is identified.
Cultural appropriation is very common in the fashion industry.
Around the world, fashion designers are urged to take into account elements taken from other cultures.
In an increasingly globalized and connected world thanks to social networks, it is normal to find any kind of comments on social networks. This is the case of the recent criticism that Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller made to the luxury brand Ralph Lauren, for allegedly “plagiarizing” the designs by the original communities, for which today representatives of the firm have agreed to meet with the artisans of Tlaxcala .
According to data from the Journal of the University of Mexico, plagiarism of elements from another culture is perhaps the most extreme case of cultural appropriation.
Given this, cultural appropriation is a term that is gaining strength in Mexico, especially in the fashion industry.
Ralph Lauren brand will meet with artisans from Tlaxcala
The story arose after the accusations in networks of Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller, against the luxury brand Ralph Lauren, of appropriating the design of the artisans of Tlaxcala, the luxury firm announced that it will meet with them.
Through a letter, signed by Patrice Louvet, CEO and president of Ralph Lauren, it was also addressed to the head of the Ministry of Culture, Alejandra Frausto, who condemned and rejected the plagiarism of textile designs that on more than one occasion brands renowned have committed to the detriment of the country’s indigenous communities.
Ralph Lauren has agreed to open a dialogue with Federal and State Government authorities, as well as with artisans from the state of Tlaxcala to compensate for the damage.
This is added to the extreme words through an extensive letter, his apologies to the wife of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and to the native communities in general for a jacket that was part of one of their collections.
It was announced that the meeting will take place on November 20, when it takes place at the Los Pinos Cultural Complex within the framework of the Original Festival in Mexico City.
In this context, both the Ministry of Culture and the writer Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller were in favor of Mexican artisans and thanked the positioning of the brand.
For his part, the head of the Secretary of Culture of the State of Tlaxcala, Antonio Martínez Velázquez, in an interview with the entity’s local media, explained that the agency he heads will seek to establish a dialogue with the representatives of the brand, as well as ruling out that said approach is carried out by legal means.
“We start from dialogue and not from contentiousness, we will have a dialogue with the brand and goodwill and the construction of agreements will come first,” said the Tlaxcala government official.
It is not the first time that this type of accusation has been registered before the Mexican culture, where on one occasion, in 2021 the company Anthropologie, based in the United States, plagiarized the design of clothing originating in Oaxaca, for which authorities from Santa María Tlahuitoltepec, Mixe municipality, made a public complaint about the fact and the INPI rejected the action.
Connectivity in communication, thanks to social networks, have helped to further visualize the world around us with just one click. Get to know other cultures, other people, traditions and trends that exist in some nations, but that is why today we must beware of these terms that can only be happening if we appropriate and take advantage of something that belongs to the history of a country or a group .
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