Kendall Jenner accused of cultural appropriation after wearing an 'afro'

24 October 2018, 11:19 | Updated: 6 October 2020, 10:53

By Jazmin Duribe

@jazminduribe

Vogue has apologised for any offence caused.

Kendall Jenner is in trouble... again. The supermodel sported an afro for the November issue of Vogue magazine to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. Problematic, much?

The shoot, which was posted to Instagram, received a lot of hate and both the magazine and Kendall were accused of cultural appropriation.

One Instagram user wrote: "Tone deaf. Not buying this magazine anymore." Another commented: "DELETE THIS." And a third demanded: "Take it down."

View this post on Instagram

Fifteen years and 150 finalists later, 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—all with differing aesthetic and commercial aspirations—who communicate, collaborate, and essentially care for one another through the fun and not-so-fun times. Laura Vassar Brock—one of the founders of 2016 #CVFF winner Brock Collection—says, “We spoke to a few friends who had gone through it, and they all said the same thing: that the Fashion Fund is a life-changing experience. And indeed it was!” Tap the link in our bio to learn more. Photographed by @mikaeljansson, styled by @tonnegood, Vogue, November 2018

A post shared by Vogue (@voguemagazine) on Oct 19, 2018 at 1:29pm PDT

However, some people did leap to defend the model, with one user writing: "This looks more like a Victorian/Edwardian era aesthetic rather than a type 4 hair afro. It's white European culture for a white magazine with a white model. Some of you can't be serious..." Another agreed, writing: "Nothing is wrong or racist with this image, it’s clearly back-combed hair."

Nonetheless, Vogue issued an apology for the hairstyle in a statement to E News, which read: "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 apologise if it came across differently than intended, and we certainly did not mean to offend anyone by it."

View this post on Instagram

15 years ago, the @CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund was created to make the American fashion community more caring, more creative, more conscionable. Tap the link in our bio for a look back at the prize that changed American style. Photographed by @mikaeljansson, styled by @tonnegood, Vogue, November 2018

A post shared by Vogue (@voguemagazine) on Oct 17, 2018 at 2:36pm PDT

Kendall (and her sisters) are no stranger to fan backlash.

Back in 2017, Kenny went into hiding after her advert for Pepsi was pulled for offending a lotttt of people. The short clip, which showed Kendall solving unrest just by flicking open a can of Pepsi, was accused of exploiting the #BlackLivesMatter protests.

Will she ever learn?