American television star and social influencer, Kim Kardashian-West has come under criticism for naming her newly released shapewear brand Kimono, which is the name for traditional Japanese clothing.
Kardashian who said the shapewear was developed for all of those times she wanted to wear a dress or skirt with a slit and still needed the support, was accused of being shameless and disrespectful to the Japanese culture.
Finally I can share with you guys this project that I have been developing for the last year.
I’ve been passionate about this for 15 years.Kimono is my take on shapewear and solutions for women that actually work.
Photos by Vanessa Beecroft pic.twitter.com/YAACrRltX3
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) June 25, 2019
Her announcement was met with backlash and some critics were of the opinion that Kimono is a strong symbol of Japanese people which means ‘something to wear’ and should not be misrepresented by Kim Kardashian.
Dear @KimKardashian,
How sad that hundreds of people worked on your project and yet not even 1 person realised how disrespectful it is to copy and trademark the name of a traditional wear with great cultural significance. THIS is a #kimono, Not your underwear.#KimOhNo #KimonoBody pic.twitter.com/mrGhUGXOUl— Katie・けい (@ASMRBluekatie) June 26, 2019
Or, are you intentionally taking a Japanese word of specific and extreme cultural significance, stripping away its meaning, and appropriating it for your brand? I do hope not, but intentional or otherwise, that will be the result. That’s why many Japanese are crying foul.
— Yuko Kato (@yukokato1701) June 26, 2019
Kim went as far as trademarking the name and this means that she intends to hold on to the brand for a long time.