Tom Ford has joined dozens of other prominent figures in speaking out about cancel culture.
Speaking during a new interview with The Guardian, the leading fashion designer noted how the fear of stigmatization has directly influenced the fashion industry. Where designers were once making bold statements, many are now holding back in fear of being canceled.
An "obsession with political correctness" has been a massive drawback for his generation of fashion designers.
"Cancel culture inhibits design because rather than feeling free, the tendency is to start locked into a set of rules," Ford said. "Everything is now considered appropriation. We used to be able to celebrate other cultures. Now you can’t do that."
Ford also vocalized his thoughts on cancel culture, and how it impacts the fashion industry, in an interview with the Evening Standard. The 60-year-old is not opposed to cancel culture itself. In fact, it is "great in many ways," he said. At issue is that it poses challenges for creatives.
"You really have to think and rethink everything you do. 'Oh my God, will it offend anyone, is this going to be misinterpreted?'" he said.
"As a designer, of course we always appropriated things from a lot of different cultures, but it was seen as a form of celebration and honoring that particular culture ... now you have to think twice because it can be called out as appropriation."
Looking back over the past few years, and the designs and trends that defined fashion at various times, Ford believes not many iconic collections would make it onto the catwalk today.
"Yves Saint Laurent would never have been able to do a Chinese collection, a peasant collection," he said. "There are so many things that could never have been created, but at the same time, this shift needed to happen. There is a zero-tolerance policy, which is great in many ways, but very difficult to manage if you are a public person, or if you are running a company. You have to think about all of it."
Ford added that it has "gotten tough to be creative."
"It has gotten very hard to be spontaneous," he added. "I think, in today’s world because you have to rethink yourself."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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