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Chanel's €1260 branded boomerang is coming in for all sorts of criticism
IT ALL STARTED with this tweet, sent out yesterday by American celebrity makeup artist and musician Jeffree Star:
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Suddenly, the world was very aware that a Chanel-branded boomerang existed.
And some quick research showed that it cost a casual €1260 to purchase
Chanel Chanel
The news trickled down to Australia – whose Aboriginal groups are widely thought to be the inventors of the boomerang, and a place where it’s a cultural icon.
So Aboriginal writer and activist Nayuka Gorrie was one of the first to call out the obvious contrast at play here
@NayukaGorrie @NayukaGorrie
@NayukaGorrie @NayukaGorrie
Overnight, it’s been universally deemed cultural appropriation and become a major news story down under
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The debate under Star’s Instagram of the boomerang heated up, with some comments calling out Chanel for using a cultural symbol as a ridiculously luxurious item:
To make matters worse, The Guardian noted this morning that the boomerang costs nearly 10% of the average yearly income of Indigenous Australians.
And then it made TV news across the country *cough*
Chanel were forced into releasing a statement on the controversy, saying they are:
On top of the cultural appropriation, the obscene price was next on the list of reasons why this is an awful thing
@tbhtoni @tbhtoni
And the Chanel logo appearing on a boomerang in the first place is gas enough
If you were to sit down and attempt to create a controversy, this would be the blueprint
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Or another title: How to piss off an entire nation.
What goes around comes around.
Sigh.
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Ah here Chanel chanel boomerang good work What goes around...