UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal

Cultural appropriation in the United States is an issue that individuals do not acceptleading cultures to be viewed as humorous and not dignified of respect. In particular, the fashionindustry has previously had problems with the address of cultural appropriation in designelements and similarities in clothing appearance in designers and clothing companies. Designersare not supplying adequate references to contributors or evidence of the clothing design beingdifferent than a cultural clothing item. The inappropriate use of cultural elements results inculture being represented inappropriately by others and for worldviews to be modified intonarrow categories regarding the characteristics of a particular culture, therefore, fostering biasesand stereotypes. Despite the ongoing prevalence of cultural appropriation within the realm offashion design, I want to understand why certain cultural groups like Mexicans are targeted byfashion designers and clothing companies. To understand the continuing process of culturalappropriation, I conducted a literature review on different cases of clothing companies accusedof Mexican cultural appropriation by the media. The literature review highlights the importanceof being aware of other cultural values, elements, and traditional clothing to avoid culturalappropriation. In the need to be influenced by other cultures in clothing design elements properjustification and accreditation must be given to demonstrate respect to other cultures. Regulatingcultural appreciation and acceptance of other cultures will increase unity and decrease theproblems associated with cultural appropriation among fashion designers and clothingcompanies.