The fashion brand Reformation stands accused of culturally appropriating South Asian attire and failing to give credit for the inspiration. Reformation's recent collection, released with influencer Devon Lee Carlson, contained a set of items emulating the South Asian lehenga: a midi skirt, matching camisole and long scarf.
People were quick to make the connection and criticize the brand. Reformation, in turn, claimed to respect the "origin of this criticism given South Asian culture's influence on Western style," said a brand spokesperson to The New York Times.
Taking fashion inspiration from other cultures is not inherently wrong, but acknowledging the source of inspiration differentiates borrowing from stealing, "especially when the clothing items are repackaged at a high price by a brand in a powerful position," said the Times.
Appreciating culture "requires education," "context" and "respect," Souzeina Mushtaq, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin, said to The Washington Post. "You cannot just aesthetically borrow things without understanding the culture." Ideally, brands would "tell the story of the roots and relevance behind a garment while collaborating with the communities these garments come from and paying them fairly."
Reformation is not the only brand to create clothing with seeming South Asian influence. Oh, Polly and H&M have faced similar backlash.
Many of these clothing companies also make their items cheaply and without input from South Asians. "The long history of cultural co-optation," said Harper's Bazaar India, "has often happened at the expense of the marginalized and to the profit of the white." | 
