Kim Kardashian West’s ‘Kimono’ line – Cultural appropriation or outrage marketing?

Like them or hate them, but the extensive Kardashian family has been social media darlings for long. Known to be fashion icons, the Kardashians have been influencing what people wear. And they are not your usual vacuous reality stars always courting controversies to stay relevant; the Kardashians are also business savvy.

Dominating the fashion scene as well as the red carpets for some years now, Kim Kardashian West is known for her sartorial style and an impossibly slender waist squeezed into high-end shape wear, as demonstrated in her videos from the Met Gala 2019. Kim has now announced a new line of shapewear solutions, christened Kimono, with a post on her Twitter and Instagram accounts.

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

While aspiring divas should have been reaching out for the Kimono range, instead, Kim has drawn attention to the post not because of her unique take on shapewear, but rather the incongruous name that she has given her brand. As we all know, Kimono is a Japanese garment steeped in tradition and the Japanese have not taken kindly to a line of intimates being given the brand name Kimono.

Read More: Bumrah, Yuvi’s clash on Instagram turns into all out social media war

The severe backlash under the hashtag #KimOhNo has aggregated several angry tweets, mostly from Japanese users on Twitter, trolling Kim for her misuse of the word and of cultural appropriation.

Nice underwear, but as a Japanese woman who loves to wear our traditional dress,👘 kimono, I find the naming of your products baffling (since it has no resemblance to kimono), if not outright culturally offensive, especially if it’s merely a word play on your name. Pls reconsider

— Yuko Kato (@yukokato1701) June 26, 2019

While the negativity around the social media post is mounting, so are the conversations that it is generating. Meanwhile, Kim has issued a statement to the New York Times, where she said, “I understand and have deep respect for the significance of the kimono in Japanese culture.” Kimono is a play on Kim Kardashian West’s name, as are her other brands – Kimoji and KKW Beauty.

This is not the first time that Kim has come under fire on social media – remember the ‘maang tika’ incident from Coachella earlier this year that drew severe flak from Indians all over the world? But do such instances affect her brand or do they further fuel her celebrity status?

Outrage marketing is a viral marketing strategy where outrage is manufactured deliberately to gain traction in the echo chamber of social media. Since trolls and digital natives are always ready to engage with such offensive content, it automatically gains traction on social media.

Regardless of what people may feel about the new ‘Kimono’ line, one thing is for sure – everyone now knows about it. Thus, as an initial launch for the brand, behind all the outrage lies resounding success in marketing.

It’s another question of how many people will actually be able to afford the product!