Spanish brand Mango announced yesterday that Kendall Jenner would star in its new campaign. While many thought this was a great fit, considering models like Cara Delevingne and Kate Moss have previously posed for its ads, the theme for the campaign has caused a bit of controversy.
Mango revealed that Jenner would be featured in one portion of its four-part "Tribal Spirit" Spring 2016 campaign. The collection Jenner will be modeling is inspired by the African savanna and includes pieces covered in tribal print and fringe.
Similar to the backlash caused by Valentino's African-inspired collection last week, people are now accusing Mango of cultural appropriation. Despite the Mango Vice President's claim to WWD that "she was the best model to embody this trend," many feel that a model of color should have been cast for a collection that represents aspects of African heritage. Social media users have taken to Instagram and Twitter to express their disappointment in the brand's choice to feature Jenner as the face of the campaign.
Unfortunately, diversity has been an ongoing issue in the fashion industry, especially when it comes to casting non-white models. In 2015, studies found that minority models made up less than 30 of those cast for NYFW and less than 20 percent were featured on magazine covers. It doesn't seem that fashion issues centered on cultural appropriation will be left in 2015, as much as we'd like them to.
