Jennifer Lawrence’s New Dior Ad Is Being Accused of Cultural Appropriation
Dior is under fire for a new campaign that purportedly aims to celebrate Mexican culture. There’s just one problem: It stars Jennifer Lawrence, a white actress who does not have any Mexican heritage. The Dior Cruise 2019 collection was supposedly influenced by escaramuzas — traditional, highly skilled Mexican horsewomen — and the female characters from The House of the Spirits, the classic debut novel from Chilean writer Isabel Allende. But many were quick to point out that the campaign was noticeably lacking representation from actual Mexicans.
The French fashion house shared a video from the campaign in which Jennifer is seen wandering and contemplating her way through some type of rustic, ranch-like environment. All the while, mysterious voices whisper as dramatic music plays in the background.
In another video, Jennifer is interviewed about the collection and shares her excitement for it. “One of the main inspirations for this collection is the traditional women riders of Mexico,” she says. “So I’m really excited that this collection is looking at and celebrating these women’s heritage through such a modern lens.”
In the comments, many people wondered if “modern lens” means without the inclusion of Mexican people, how much of a celebration can it really be? The video garnered hundreds of comments that basically asked this same question. One person wrote that they couldn’t believe Dior had “the audacity to feature a white model for the face of a Mexican culture inspired line.” Someone else asked, “So there are no Mexican actresses to represent a Mexican inspired collection?”
In the interview, Jennifer also reveals that they shot the campaign in California. “I can’t think of a better landscape to highlight this collection,” she says.
Phoebe Robinson, a comedian and cohost of the podcast "2 Dope Queens," shared her feelings about the situation on Instagram. She, too, wondered why Dior didn’t shoot in Mexico with a Mexican actress.
“And like they couldn’t think of a better landscape to shoot than in California?!” Phoebe says. “Hmm, I dunno, maybe...like...shoot...in...Mexico...with...a...Mexican...actress like Salma Hayek, Karla Souza, Jessica Alba, Selena Gomez, Eva Longoria, or many others. But I guess they were all unavailable, so you had to go with Jennifer Lawrence. The audacity to call this shit modern because it’s worn by a white woman is ignorant and gross, but unfortunately, not surprising.”
Phoebe then asked her followers to leave comments tagging Mexican designers who should be recognized for their work. Some suggestions included Maria Vogel, Entredós, and Carlos Pineda.
Teen Vogue has reached out to Dior for comment.
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It's Not OK to Appropriate Mexican Culture — Especially If You’re Dehumanizing Mexico's People
