The 2022 Met Gala stoked the flame of one of the main discussions of our generation: how to appreciate different cultures without appropriating them. Millions of people followed this star-studded event, themed “Gilded Glamor.” One of the stars in attendance was Emma Chamberlain, a well-loved Youtube influencer known for her personality, outfits, and coffee brand. She is also a brand ambassador of Cartier, walking down the red carpet wearing a long white skirt and a tan shirt with puffed sleeves topped off with a Cartier choker around her neck.
Twitter was soon flooded with people identifying the choker as a piece of jewelry bought in 1928 by a Sikh royal, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala.
There has been a lot of speculation about what happened to the necklace to get from the Maharaja of Patiala’s hands to Emma Chamberlain. Some believe the necklace disappeared from the royal treasury in 1948 and was stolen by British forces, which is how many Asian artifacts have ended up in British and American museums. Others believe that rather than being stolen, the necklace was broken up into pieces and eventually re-acquired piece by piece by Cartier. Regardless, this necklace is an artifact and a piece of Indian history.
South Asians on social media have expressed differing opinions about an American white woman wearing the necklace, debating whether it is an instance of cultural appropriation or appreciation. Those who view that Chamberlain should not have worn the necklace cite the unjust actions of the British colonizers of India to back up their claims, while those who are proud of the necklace reaching such a popular American event believe that Indians should be happy to see their culture represented on the red carpet.
Another instance of cultural appropriation that occurred at this year’s Met Gala was Kim Kardashian wearing the dress that Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy, where the same argument behind Chamberlain’s controversy is being used to contend that Kardashian is disrespecting the sanctity of the history of the dress.
This certainly is not the first time that accusations of possible cultural appropriation have been dismissed for “entertainment.” The fox eye trend used by many makeup artists and TikTok creators is a makeup look used to elongate the eye to appear more like a monolid. There has also been a fetishization of Japanese culture on social media, where people interested in animé and Japanese brands like Hello Kitty are treating Japanese culture and people as an aesthetic. This has resulted in violence and murder against women who did not accept the men’s sexual advances, revealing the extreme effects that cultural appropriation can have.
The ongoing debate between cultural appropriation and appreciation conveys the importance of respecting the multitude of cultures that make up America. Regardless of whether or not Chamberlain’s wearing of Maharaja’s choker was an incident of cultural appropriation, this incident is an opportunity for the fashion community to deliberate on the boundaries between offensive appropriation and reverential and sensitive appreciation.