Chanel’s expensive boomerang has a price tag that could very well come back to haunt the fashion company.
Chanel’s $1,325 wood and resin boomerang is just one of the sporting items in its spring/summer 2017 pre-collection, which also includes tennis rackets, surfboards, and boxing gloves, according to The New York Times.
However, it’s the boomerang that’s receiving much of the attention, and rightfully so, critics say.
The luxury brand is being accused of "cultural appropriation, exploitation of the underprivileged, and ignorance," the Times noted.
According to HuffPost, boomerangs were used as weapons and hunting tools by indigenous Australians, and Chanel's version has offended many.
Writer and activist Nayuka Gorrie told the Guardian Australia that the Chanel item is “so wrong it is almost absurd.”
“Having a luxury brand swoop in, appropriate, sell our technologies, and profit from our cultures for an absurd amount of money is ridiculous and hurtful,” Gorrie said. “If Chanel truly want to respect Aboriginal cultures, the first place they should start is discontinue this product and issue an apology. Perhaps the next step would be supporting existing black designers.”
Chanel issued an apology to anyone it might have offended with the boomerang.
“Chanel is extremely committed to respecting all cultures, and deeply regrets that some may have felt offended,” the company said in a statement. “The inspiration was taken from leisure activities from other parts of the world, and it was not our intention to disrespect the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and the significance of the boomerang as a cultural object.”
The apology wasn’t enough for some Twitter users, though.
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