Italian fashion house Fendi and roman statues: an example of intercultural appropriation

The article is dedicated to the engagement of intercultural appropriation by fashion. This tool is scrutinized on the example of references of Italian luxury fashion house Fendi to Roman statues on its products. The author raises several questions regarding intercultural appropriation as a phenomenon, its manifestation in the industry of fashion and intentions of the brand when using it. First, formation of the notion “intercultural appropriation” is analysed on the base of the already existing “cultural appropriation”. Then an analogy of appropriation and reproduction of works of art is considered to introduce the practice in question in the legitimate field of culture. Finally, the mechanism of functioning of intercultural appropriation as a secondary semiological system, or a myth, is suggested. On the theoretical level, all components of a mythical utterance are singled out, and their relations and interaction are described. On the practical level, each element of the myth is identified with a correspondent one in the studied example with the use of images of the statues on fashion products, and the way the brand demonstrates its intentions and values through the myth is shown.