We often talk a lot about how fashion is a sense of self expression and identity. However, this week we are exploring the possibility of it also being a way to tell a story. For the Hmong people, fashion is more than just a way to express your own self and to look fashionable, and it is not just something practical as well, something that is weaved to be simple and bland and used for practical reasons such as covering one self up. Rather for the Hmong people, it "can be used as pedagogical tools to show everyday life in Laos" (231). Because the Hmong did not write their history in books like many societies, their clothes became their history books and canvas. An example is the Hmong New Year in which "the many activities of the Hmong New Year and other religious and social ceremonies can be seen on story clothes depicting those ceremonies" (232).
I think that's why when it comes to the issue of cultural appropriation, especially when we bring in the involvement of textile, it becomes an important conversation to have. It is important to not be angry and say that no one is ever allowed to touch these textiles or use them as inspiration. Rather, I think it is important to talk about and give these textiles more exposure but we must do it in the right and respectful way. It is important to talk about these textiles and what they represent and educate ourselves on the story behind each, so we can appreciate the importance of the history it is telling and significant it holds to the Hmong people.
Works Cited
April Ava L. McCall. “Speaking through Cloth: Teaching Hmong History and Culture through Textile
Arts.
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