Alice Vol. 7 No. 5

of Indian beading into a capsule shoe
collection, showcased in an article that
can be found on his website titled “Behind
the Collaboration: Christian Louboutin
x Sabyasachi.” The attention elevated
Sabyasachi’s entire brand, and now his
clothing designs are worn by American
and Western European fashion setters and
celebrities, including Reese Witherspoon
and Renée Zellweger.
A common thread connecting
cultural attire is that each piece of clothing
offers its unique detail and meaning.
Clothing is much more than what meets the
eye. It’s inspired by memories, traditions
or historic significance. Cultural attire
opens up the doors to new conversations,
often allowing people from different places
throughout the world to make a connection
and share their backgrounds. Traditional
cultural attire serves as a platform for
people to express their identity, heritage
and culture.
The members of the Indian Students
Association of Tuscaloosa wear traditional
cultural attire to celebrate their Indian
traditions at The University of Alabama.
They invite students of all backgrounds to
participate.
Abhinandhan Narayanan, a native of
India, serves as president of the association.
Narayanan said he acknowledges the
differences that exist within a culture,
while also highlighting the role traditional
clothing plays in creating community.
“Every state in India has a different
language, a different cuisine and different
attire, so you can tell from a person’s attire
whether they are from the northern part
of India or the southern part of India,”
said Narayanan. “Attire is something that
is very intrinsic to Indian culture. When
you see people going to the temples, their
places of worship, they will all be dressed
in similar attire, offering a huge sense of
community.”
With a population of 1.4 billion
people, India has the second-largest
population in the world and is home to
thousands of ethnic groups, hundreds of
languages and numerous religions. The
country has more than 29 states, and
as Narayanan explained, the traditional
cultural attire can vary from state to state
and region to region. But regardless of
where in India a person is from, Narayanan
said he feels “flattered” when people from
non-Indian cultures wear traditional
clothes from India because he sees that as
a sign of respect.
“If I see someone else wearing
Indian clothes, I feel really happy and
glad that Indian culture has reached other
people,” said Narayanan.
Narayanan was excited and proud
to share memories celebrating his favorite
Indian celebration, Diwali. Narayanan
said the traditional events that take place
for this celebration include wearing new
cultural attire and celebrating with food,
family and friends. Diwali is known as the
festival of lights and is a five-day event
held in late fall that celebrates the triumph
of light over dark and good over evil.
Narayanan said he and his Indian friends
look forward to sharing the traditions of
Diwali with their non-Indian friends at The
University of Alabama. Last fall, leading
up to the Diwali celebration, members of
the association accumulated all of their
traditional Indian clothing and encouraged
their non-Indian friends to wear the attire
to attend the Diwali festivities.
“It was just amazing. You feel very
happy, especially when you are so many
miles away from home, and you see
someone who is not from your country or
culture wearing clothes from your country,
you feel a sense of gratification,” said
Narayanan.
In March of 2018- just five months
after the Sabyasachi and Louboutin
partnership launched the term cultural
appropriation was added to the Oxford
Dictionary. According to the Oxford
Dictionary, cultural appropriation is
“the unacknowledged or inappropriate
adoption of the practices, customs,
or aesthetics of one social or ethnic
group by members of another typically
dominantcommunity or society.”
Cultural appropriation is a new term
and is a subject people are still exploring
and considering, especially regarding
how it relates to style and fashion. The
concept of cultural appropriation is
complicated, and there are very few clear
lines in determining or understanding why
something is or isn’t appropriate to wear
based on one’s cultural background.
“As a general rule, I think it’s a
good idea to listen and be deferential
to members of the source culture of
the clothing in question,” said Erich
Hatala Matthes, an assistant professor of
philosophy studying the ethics of cultural
heritage at The University of Alabama.
“We also shouldn’t assume that
every member of a particular cultural
group will have the same views about who
wears what clothes, so things are often not
so simple,” said Matthes.
The continent of Africa has a
population of 1.2 billion, with 54 countries,
and more than 3,000 tribal communities,
according to Think Africa’s, “10 largest
tribes in Africa.”
“My attire is me, it represents who I
am as a Botswana woman,” said Kefentse
Kubanga, Vice resident of the African
Students Association at the University of
Alabama. “And whenever I see someone
else wearing it, I know the person is also
a Botswana woman because the clothing
is very different from any other person or
any other culture.”
Botswana traditional clothing is rich
in ornamental objects, with necklaces,
bracelets, armlets, rings and earrings, all
easy pieces for individuals of other cultures
to wear as everyday accessories. Kubanga
said she believes knowledge and respect
play an important role when someone not
from her culture is wearing clothing or
jewelry that are or resemble her culture’s
attire.
“It shows someone is appreciating
and embracing a culture that is different
from their own. So it is flattering in that
sense. I don’t think you can really feel
insulted, but you just ask yourself if the
person really understands the significance
behind that attire,” said Kubanga.
Careful thought and the context
surrounding the adoption or imitation of
aspects of cultural attire within a fashion
style seem to be the guiding considerations
when deciding if what you or what someone
else is wearing is culturally appropriating.
“When it comes to fashion in
particular, you want to make sure that
you’re not enforcing norms that limit
the success of culturally marginalized
designers,” said Matthes. “So, for example,
it would plausibly be a bad thing if worries
about cultural appropriation made people
disinclined to buy clothes from Native
designers: if the work is being produced
for the market, the designers probably
want people to buy it and wear it.”
As a whole, clothing provides people
of all different ethnicities and experiences
a method to display and celebrate their
culture. The beauty of clothing is it can be
more than what meets the eye. Traditional
cultural clothing has meaning, in the way
it represents history, power, community,
and identity. One of the most valuable
lessons to learn in life is that there is
great joy, education, and friendship that
is gained from learning about another
person’s culture.
Traditional cultural attire tells a
story, and if you’re lucky enough in life,
you will have the opportunity to listen to
an individual’s own telling of what their
traditional cultural attire means to them
personally.
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