Miss Polly had a dolly that was sick, sick, sick

Hello again from The Unmistakables’ resident Aunty and Gen Xer. Today I’m turning my attention away from Eastenders to the brand Oh Polly, which has successfully managed to cause an almighty (sh*t) storm amongst South Asian content creators. 

What’s the specific crime Oh Polly has committed? I hear you ask. 

It’s good old cultural appropriation, which we define as:

“Adopting elements or aspects from a culture that is not your own for commercial gain without acknowledging, understanding or respecting their historical, social and cultural significance.” 

We also helpfully coach our clients on the key indicators of cultural appropriation:

• Takes without permission

• Ignores meaning and stories

• Lack of authentic voices informing direction 

• Takes an element of a culture without the context 

So now we know this - let’s take a look at what’s being said. 

The cultural cost of fashion: South Asians speak on Oh Polly's controversy

In a TikTok that has been played over 1.4 million times and has garnered 196.6K likes, 1,125 comments and 6,194 saves, Keertana.Sree - a Malayalee-American filmmaker and content creator - says:

“So if you didn’t know, Oh Polly is one of the newer brands that has been found guilty of stealing South Asian culture. Like literally, just search up ‘Oh Polly dress controversy’ and you’ll see a picture of a literal anarkali (a traditional Indian garment dating back to the Mughal period in India that comprises a long, flowing tunic, fitted at the bodice and flared at the bottom, resembling the shape of a gown) or churidar (a variant of a salwar suit with a mid-length tunic and tight-fitting trousers) that has been rebranded into this like Scandinavian like little fashion like little thing. ….we have Europeans and the Americans basically stealing these ideas of our culture and then formatting them into a more acceptable way because a White person is wearing them……”. 

British content creator @jayas_x asserts: “ It's really refreshing to see the South Asian community come together and speak about how much bullying we face in the media day to day, how many microaggressions there are against our culture, how much racism there is against the South Asian community. Yet these white, British American brands have absolutely no problem profiting from our culture. Culture, which we get demonised for every single day...”

She continues: “And for those of you in the comments who are saying it's not a big deal. You've never had to deal with racism. You've never had to actually go out in the outfits from our culture that these are inspired by and been called the P word, been called every racial slur under the sun and been targeted for simply wearing clothes from our culture. But it's okay for you guys to wear it because you're not brown, you're not South Asian.”

“But Aren’t You Just Gatekeeping Beautiful Clothing?” 

The answer is yes.

Kidding, it’s a hard no. This isn’t about gatekeeping — it’s about the very real, ongoing power imbalances between South Asian and Western cultures.

As Australian journalist Varsha Yajman writes: “With hundreds of years of colonisation that have continued to impact South Asians and their connection to culture, it is deeply upsetting to have all the things that were deemed less than or uncivilised suddenly be trending fashion pieces now. I grew up being embarrassed when my family wore traditional clothing outside, hiding my lunchbox at school, and hating my own culture because I was made to feel so ashamed of it. And now, fashion brands are trying to sell me these same clothes at a marked-up price?”

I hear you, Bhen-ji.  

As for the team at Oh Polly, they had this to say: “.....”.  

I actually don’t know what they said. There doesn’t seem to be any sort of statement or apology on the internet which directly addresses the concerns of diasporic South Asian communities across the globe. 

Fast Fashion, Slow Learning: What’s the teachable moment?

Well apart from ‘don’t do it’, we have a helpful set of questions that teams should be asking themselves when it comes to taking inspiration:

• Are you (meaning the brand and the people working on the creative) from the culture that you’re being inspired by? If not, have authentic voices informed the creative process in any way?

• Is this an example of a dominant culture profiting from a historically subordinate culture?

• Who is benefiting from these aspects of culture being used? 

• Are the culture or cultural elements being portrayed accurately? Have we transformed or altered it?

• How have we acknowledged its origins? 

• Are we ‘giving back’ to the culture we have sought to include in the creative, where possible?

Due to the sheer volume of products and campaigns we’ve seen that are guilty of exploitation and appropriation, we developed a proprietary tool to help our clients avoid these missteps, instead guiding them on how to be culturally appreciative, credible and authentic. 

To find out more about how we can help you create products and campaigns that are on the right side of cultural - and community-appreciation, click here: https://www.theunmistakables.com/services/dei-training/dei-training-for-agencies