Alison Sullivan
People are wondering who exactly had the final call on how models were styled at Rihanna’s new Savage x Fenty fashion show last weekend after a number of white models walked the runway in traditional Black hairstyles. It seems like Rihanna might be taking most of the heat for it on Twitter, making it a strange case of the fashion mogul being accused of appropriating her own culture.
Especially notable were models Vanessa Hudgens and Emily Ratajkowski, who some people seem to think Rihanna should have stopped from appearing in her lingerie with their hair in braids:
It’s very strange as a choice, especially because talking about cultural appropriation is certainly something that’s been going on for some time. It’s also not the first time that a Savage X Fenty show has gotten blowback for questionable choices, Popbuzz reports. In 2020, the show used a song by Coucou Chloe called “Doom,” which included samples from a sacred Islamic scripture, angering Muslims.
At the time, Rihanna apologized in an Instagram story, writing, “I’d like to thank the Muslim community for pointing out a huge oversight that was unintentionally offensive in our savage x Fenty show. I would, more importantly, like to apologize to you for this honest, yet careless mistake.
“We understand that we have hurt many of our Muslim brothers and sisters, and I’m incredibly disheartened by this! I do not play with any kind of disrespect toward God or any religion and therefore the use of the song in our project was completely irresponsible! Moving forward we will make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”
She has not yet responded to the comments on Twitter.