Cultural Appropriation in Design

The question of cultural appropriation in Chanel's work reflects contemporary concerns applied retrospectively but reveals important patterns in how Western fashion has historically treated non-Western cultures. Chanel's "borrowings" from various cultural sources—Russian embroideries, Asian silhouettes, Egyptian motifs—exemplify fashion's long history of decontextualized appropriation for aesthetic effect.

Chanel's Russian period, influenced by her relationship with Grand Duke Dmitri and the Russian émigrés in 1920s Paris, produced designs that borrowed heavily from traditional Russian folk costume. The embroideries, the fur trims, the Byzantine-inspired jewelry—all represented Russian culture filtered through Western luxury sensibilities. While Chanel employed Russian émigré craftspeople, giving them work during difficult times, she also profited from their cultural heritage without acknowledgment.

The "Oriental" influences in Chanel's work—particularly evident in her apartment's Coromandel screens and reflected in various collections—exemplify Orientalist attitudes common in her era. Eastern cultures provided exotic aesthetic inspiration stripped of cultural context or meaning. The reduction of complex civilizations to decorative motifs for Western consumption represents a form of cultural imperialism that fashion has been slow to acknowledge or address.

Her appropriation of working-class and military garments raises different but related issues. The transformation of sailors' jerseys, mechanics' overalls, and military jackets into luxury fashion removed these garments from their class contexts. While this could be read as democratization, it also represents the aestheticization of labor, making working clothes fashionable while maintaining clear distinctions between actual workers and wealthy women playing with working-class signifiers.

The question of whether historical figures should be judged by contemporary standards complicates this analysis. Cultural borrowing was standard practice in Chanel's era, seen as cosmopolitan sophistication rather than appropriation. Yet understanding how these practices established patterns that persist in fashion helps explain contemporary cultural tensions. The legacy of treating culture as aesthetic resource continues to plague fashion.

Contemporary fashion's ongoing struggles with cultural appropriation—from runway shows featuring sacred symbols to luxury brands copying traditional designs—reflect patterns Chanel helped establish. The notion that aesthetic inspiration justifies cultural borrowing, that creativity transcends cultural boundaries, that fashion exists in a realm beyond politics—all these ideas that enable appropriation have roots in practices Chanel pioneered.