At the beginning of November, PrettyLittleThing launched their campaign with the pop girl band Little Mix. In preparation for the upcoming festive season, the collaboration introduced a range of partywear – from glitter and sequins to colourful animal prints. However, a few of the garments produced by the fast-fashion chain were questioned for their supposed cultural appropriation of traditional Chinese attire.

The 2011 X-Factor winners were modelled head-to-toe in clothes that were promoted as ‘Eastern-inspired’ and labelled as ‘oriental’. Co-ord sets, handbags, and heels all used intricately embroidered traditional silk dresses known as the qipao or cheongsam. Originally worn by men, the Xinhai revolution in 1911 saw a progressive step towards female liberation and the turn of women wearing the qipao as a sign of gender equality. Come the 1950s and 60s with the rise of the Communist government, there was a stricter approach to what women could wear in mainland China, meaning that the qipao only continued to be worn in the British colony of Hong Kong. Since then, the traditional outfit has become increasingly westernised and continues to have its symbolic and historical meaning overwritten through the means of appropriation.

This is the case with the PLT’s clothing line in question, which has been criticised for sexualising the qipao by transforming it into crop tops and mini skirts. Many have taken to the debate through Twitter and Instagram, claiming that there had been a lack of consideration and education which had led to the ‘fetishisation’ of a traditional Chinese garment, politically charged with a history of both oppression and liberation. Unfortunately, others also took to Instagram to obliviously praise and support the launch, some claiming that they were ready to buy the whole collection, others patronising the angered to ‘get over it’. This level of ignorance demonstrates how many Westerners are blind to their imperialist history and the damaging effects of cultural appropriation.

The criticism also stems from PLT’s choice to label the particular items as ‘oriental’ – using this world ultimately generalises all Eastern cultures to the derogatory and exoticised idea of the ‘other’. Historically, this has been a prevalent ideology in Western discourse as well as a subject and aesthetic seen in literature and art. However, this is not just a thing of the past but an ongoing issue as demonstrated by PLT.

PLT may not be entirely to blame, however, as Little Mix had an equal responsibility in the creation of this collaboration. In recent light of Little Mix member Jesy Nelson’s documentary on the effects of online bullying and abuse, it comes as a shock that the girls had not considered the likelihood of their collaboration causing offence and disrespect. On top of this, the issue of cultural appropriation had been overlooked by Jesy Nelson when she faced backlash for styling her hair in dreadlocks.

In the current celebrity limelight, Little Mix are hugely influential towards young audiences, and for those who are naive, their cultural appropriation could simply come off as harmless cultural appreciation. Posting her outfit on Instagram this month, Kim Kardashian West had also culturally appropriated the traditional Chinese attire in the red dress she wore to attend the 2019 Influencer Awards ceremony in Monaco. Although it was a more adapted take on the traditional Chinese dress than PLT had produced, Kim had evidently not learnt from her previous controversy of originally naming her shapewear collection ‘Kimono’.

Clearly, the deep rooted racial implications that continue to exist in today’s multicultural society are masked under the veil of equality. Instances like the PLT x Little Mix collaboration ultimately uncover that the modern world may not be not as progressive as we’d like to think.