Kim Kardashian was once again dragged for using another culture for her own financial gain. But the 38-year-old reality star is standing by #Kimono as the name for her lingerie shapewear line.
“Anyone else mad that Kim K really has a new brand called ‘Kimono’????” one Twitter user said after Kardashian announced her new line. “First of all everyone needs to understanding [sic] that her calling it ‘kimono intimates’ is an example of cultural appropriation, given she is not one bit Japanese nor oriental Asian, and that’s why [it] is insulting,” another user wrote when news of her Kimono trademark broke in 2018, while others said, “A kimono is not just a garment, there’s an entire meaning behind it, and to pathetically call it what Kim has called it really irritates me.”
In response, Kardashian wrote, “It’s obviously a play off of my name, and ‘ono’ means one,” Kardashian West told PEOPLE exclusively. “I wanted this [to be] for everyone, and we thought of the name, and it just stuck.” On Thursday, Kardashian gave a statement to the New York Times defending her colonization of the cultural garment, saying it is “a nod to the beauty and detail that goes into a garment.” She also said she does not plan on changing the name or design any items that “resemble or dishonor the traditional garment.” “My solutionwear brand is built with inclusivity and diversity at its core, and I’m incredibly proud of what’s to come,” she said. That includes bras, briefs, shorts, and bodysuits, among other undergarments.
Kardashian noted why she decided to file for the trademark of the word. “Filing a trademark is a source identifier that will allow me to use the word for my shapewear and intimates line but does not preclude or restrict anyone, in this instance, from making kimonos or using the word kimono in reference to the traditional garment.”
“I understand and have deep respect for the significance of the kimono in Japanese culture,” she said in her statement. “My solutionwear brand is built with inclusivity and diversity at its core, and I’m incredibly proud of what’s to come.” The outrage has since sparked the new hashtag #KimOhNo and a petition started by #SonoFukunishi on change.org. “I do not wish to share the word with an underwear brand,” the petition says. “‘Kimono’ means ‘clothing’ in Japanese.” The petition has been signed by more than 11,000 people who refer to Kardashian’s “Kimono” as “horrible cultural disrespect.
