It’s a Cornrows Affair

Kylie is surely the Jenner-Kardashian sister that has rocked the most daring hairstyles: she changes color every week and and she launched her own line of wigs. That’s why when last Sunday she posted her umpteenth selfie showing off her abs and cornrows, she almost went unnoticed. Not to Amandla Stenberg (remember little Rue from Hunger Games’ Disctrict 11 ?), who publicly criticized Jenner accusing her of the appropriation of a symbolic hairstyle of black culture stripping it of its symbolic value, reducing it to just a fashion trend. Kylie’s answer dismissed the subject with a personal comment (Amandla is very close to Kyle’s ex boyfriend Jaden Smith), but the internet caught fire, even because the matter is complex. If, one hand we are talking about a world in which certain black aesthetic features are exalted but racial discrimination still exist, on the other it is also true that cornrows are certainly not a new thing for fashionistas. Just think of Bo Derek who in 1980 became famous for wearing them in the cult movie 10 and the runways where they cyclically make their return; from Alexander McQueen’s shows  to Kenzo’s 2015 Resort. What do you think?