Vogue and
Kendall Jenner have both come under fire once again for accusations of cultural appropriation.
Over the weekend, the magazine shared two images of the reality star, 22, with a cropped curly hairstyle that some viewed as an afro. In comments shared on social media, many suggested the job should have been given to a model of color if that’s the hairstyle the photographers were looking for.
In one of the photos, Jenner was also pictured alongside Dutch model Imaan Hammam, 22, who is of Egyptian and Moroccan descent and whose hair was straightened for the shoot.
In a response to the negative feedback, the outlet told PEOPLE in a statement: “The image is meant to be an update of the romantic Edwardian/Gibson Girl hair which suits the period feel of the Brock Collection, and also the big hair of the ’60s and the early ’70s, that puffed-out, teased-out look of those eras. We apologize if it came across differently than intended, and we certainly did not mean to offend anyone by it.”
The Brock Collection was the 2016 winner of the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Vogue Fashion Fund. The captions of both controversial photos on Instagram paid tribute to the CFDA.
One reads: “15 years ago, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund was created to make the American fashion community more caring, more creative, more conscionable.”
The other says: “The @CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prize has created global stars, local heroes, a must-watch New York Fashion Week, and, most important, a true sense of community among designers of all ages and backgrounds.”
Jenner’s last round of aggressive criticism came in April 2017 after she starred in a Pepsi ad that was accused of using anti-Donald Trump resistance, Black Lives Matter and other movements to sell soda. On an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians that aired roughly five months later, the model, who suffers from anxiety, was distraught by the controversy. “It feels like my life is over,” she said.
A recent questionable use of ethnicity by Vogue was in the pages of its March 2017 diversity issue. Accusations of yellowface followed Karlie Kloss’s appearance in a Japanese-inspired spread, titled “Spirited Away.” In it, Kloss, 26, wore traditional geisha garments, powdery makeup and a nihongami wig. Shots include her posing alongside a sumo wrestler and in front of a tea house.