In a matter of two months, two major fashion companies were under fire for launching extremely offensive products. Gucci was the first major fashion house this year to get hit with cancel culture after they debuted a Blackface sweater. They still haven't fully recovered from the backlash but they were, unfortunately, not the only company that faced extreme scrutiny for their products. Burberry was also put on blast after they debuted a noose hoodie that many pointed out is a symbol of lynching and suicide.
Despite the backlash both companies faced, it appears as though other fashion houses didn't take note of the backlash of using someone else's culture for the purpose of "high fashion." Dior's currently facing a serious amount of heat right now for appropriating Native American culture in the campaign for their new "Sauvage" perfume. Johnny Depp stars in the ad called “We are the Land” which Dior described on Twitter as “An authentic journey deep into the Native American soul in a sacred, founding and secular territory.” What's worse is that the term "Sauvage" is directly translated to "Wild" in English. Needless to say, not many people were happy.
A release was sent out by Dior shortly after the allegations, claiming that they teamed up with non-profit organization Americans for Indian Opportunity which advocates for the rights of Indigenous people. The release stated the ad's director Jean-Baptiste Mondino and Johnny Depp got advice from the AIO for “authentic inclusion of Native American images in the film promoting Depp’s signature parfum.”
“There was need for authenticity and respect for the land and the nations that allowed us to shoot there. From the choice of location, wardrobe making, right down to casting and set design, AIO was involved,” Depp said in the release.
The clip appears to have been removed from their Twitter.
Dior's yet to directly address this controversy.
