Problematic Faves

Sometimes, designers can make it so hard to love them. I'm not talking about when everyone decided the colour is an awful powder blue that just looks old and dusty, or Flatforms (sorry, I am not into the clunky look)

I'm talking about inappropriate references on the runways. It actually happens a lot. A few days ago as part of the F/W showings for the Canadian atelier Dsquared featured giant hooded coats with a tan base, accented by rich primary colours, reds, yellows and blues. The brothers wrote that the collection was inspired by the Aboriginal Tribes of North America. 

Okay, you're probably thinking that there's nothing wrong with that. We can be inspired by the bright colours of a summer Sari, or the soft, shimmering material of a Chinese Hanfu, or the texture and warmth of a Mukluk. Yeah, we can be inspired but most of all, we need to be educated and know what the meanings behind those symbols mean.

Dsquared2, known for their tailored grungy aesthetic, put together a collection that was mostly tailored military pieces decorated with furs, tassels and Aboriginal motifs. Aesthetically it reminded me of a time in Canadian history where people were trying to make Aboriginal people assimilate while calling their oral culture savage.

I don't care if that one red coat was actually really cute; this label blatantly called the show Dsquaw. That is a slur summing up the last sentence of the previous paragraph. It carried an incredibly derogatory meaning and should never have been considered as a name for the collection. There is no way they didn't realise this was a problematic title. How was it that no one actually said anything about it? Apparently it never occurred to these Canadain designers that this would be offensive to their audiences. I think that's the worst part. 

"In a captivating play on contrast: an ode to America's native tribes meets the noble spirit of Old Europe.." Those were the words that describe this collection and I can't help but wonder if they paid attention in Canadian History. Because I'm pretty sure it wasn't such a great impression when the Old English (and other European settlers) met Native Americans for the first time.

Here are some of the designs from the show:

As a Canadian label, I expected so much more from them. I held them to a higher standard that involved knowing their audience. They gave us this delightfully Canadian 2011 boot, after all.