The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Rihanna has been accused of cultural appropriation and religious insensitivity after posting a photo of herself on Instagram and Twitter in which she appears wearing only a pair of satin boxer shorts from her Savage X Fenty lingerie line and a pendant in the image of the Hindu god Ganesha, according to a CNN report.
“Can we stop sexualising people’s religion for clout,” reads one reply to the post. “I just don’t understand the purpose of having a necklace with lord Ganesh as part of a lingerie campaign.” Another user, meanwhile, wrote: “Our culture is not your costume.”
In 2019, the singer faced a similar backlash in China after posing in Chinese clothing and ornaments for the cover of Harper’s Bazaar China. The images had been intended to show what happens “when western style icon meets eastern aesthetic,” the publication said at the time.
Though e-commerce reshaped retailing in the US and Europe even before the pandemic, a confluence of economic, financial and logistical circumstance kept the South American nation insulated from the trend until later.
This week’s round-up of global markets fashion business news also features Korean shopping app Ably, Kenya’s second-hand clothing trade and the EU’s bid to curb forced labour in Chinese cotton.
From Viviano Sue to Soshi Otsuki, a new generation of Tokyo-based designers are preparing to make their international breakthrough.
This week’s round-up of global markets fashion business news also features Latin American mall giants, Nigerian craft entrepreneurs and the mixed picture of China’s luxury market.