Does fashion have a cultural appropriation problem?

Gigi Hadid in dreads for Marc Jacobs, Gucci models in Sikh-style turbans, Victoria's Secret angels in Native American headdresses.

Across the fashion industry, many top designers have faced accusations of cultural appropriation.

In 2015 Isabel Marant was accused of plagiarising the traditional costume of a Mexican community, a year later Gucci faced a backlash for showing white models in Sikh-style turbans and in 2017 Vogue was criticised for a shoot in which model Karlie Kloss was dressed as a geisha.

Only last month Vogue was again accused of cultural appropriation for a shoot showing Kendall Jenner with an "afro".
Now Dior is the latest brand to find itself caught up in the row over its campaign featuring Jennifer Lawrence.

Its Cruise 2019 campaign said it references "the escaramuzas - empowered and highly-skilled Mexican horsewomen" as well as Chilean characters from a novel.

Some people on social media have called out the brand - questioning its decision to cast a white actress in a campaign honouring Mexican heritage.

One person on Instagram accused the brand of "exploiting our culture for your profits" while another asked why the fashion house hadn't used "someone from the culture you are inspired by to represent them".

But others defended it saying "this isn't offensive, it's celebrating culture" and that "other people can also share your culture if they do it with respect".

Dior has since posted images along with captions which say it worked with eight Mexican female photographers for a shoot in their native country for the latest issue of its magazine.

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