Kim K Trademarked ‘Kimono’ For Her Shapewear Line. Will She Snatch The Saree Next?

The Kardashian clan is an odd cultural phenomenon. Are they brilliant business women or plain lucky? One thing is indisputable though, these ladies know how to exploit the concept of ‘Cancel Culture’. This concept is defined by the internet rage that follows a certain behaviour from a celebrity, and then asks for them to be ‘cancelled’. How do they use it? They constantly surround their new ventures with controversies in order to go viral. This counts as free advertising for them usually, but a recent move by them is downright tone-deaf and cheap!

ALSO READ: You Won’t Believe What Kanye West Gave Kim Kardashian As A Mother’s Day Gift

Earlier this week, Kim released a line of shapewear/ lingerie under the KKW brand and has trademarked the brand as *drumroll* Kimono!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzIi3CFHaXb/

For people unaware of the significance of this, think about what the saree means to Indian women. The same applies to Japanese women, who have been wearing their traditional Kimonos since the 15th century.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzNnEgLHZIn/

Japanese Kimonos, as seen above, are long, loose, robe-like garments that are tied with a sash and worn on auspicious occasions like weddings and festivals. Even designers have taken inspiration from these silhouettes, creating Kimono jackets and Kimono-style dresses. But here’s the deal, they always give Japanese culture its due recognition. What Kim K has done here though, is downright outrageous.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzLix81H6i5/

According to multiple sources, Kim K’s team has been trying to trademark the name for their shapewear line for a long time. And now that the trademark has been granted, Kim is free to use it for any of her brand’s promotion and marketing campaigns. It’s like someone trademarking a range of Brazilian bikinis with the name Lehenga! A) Bikinis look nothing like lehengas and, B) it’s a case of shameless cultural disregard and appropriation.

A little more context for why I think this is problematic.

"We wear kimonos to celebrate health and growth of children, coming of age, celebrating engagements and marriages, graduations, at funerals.
It's celebratory wear, and has significance to our culture." pic.twitter.com/hBA7PWbwgl

— yukaccy.eth (@yukaccy) June 26, 2019

There is a huge backlash from the Japanese on this issue. The hashtag #KimOhNo has been trending since yesterday and going through them warranted countless facepalms from our side. This is plain stupid. The worst part is, even if Kim K apologises and chooses to change the name, her product has already gained massive popularity in just a day after they were launched!

https://twitter.com/jameelajamil/status/1143214714568073216

Kim was dragged just a couple of days ago for her body makeup range as well. We were confused at first by why it was generating hate, most beauty brands have some form of body makeup products out there. We went through the product’s portfolio and marketing and discovered that while other brands make and sell products like bronzers and body glitter. Kim’s only-foundation range was specially meant for hiding veins and scars. It is also conceptualised as giving our skin a more ‘air-brushed’ look, something which did not go down well with women who are outspoken about embracing their imperfections.

What is your take on the whole Kim K #KimOhNo drama? Let us know!

UPDATE:

Kim recently took to Instagram to reveal that she has changed the name of her brand to Solutionwear, without acknowledging the whole controversy, we add.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzYFv6tAHRb/?utm_source=ig_embed

While we already knew this would be the outcome, we hope she doesn’t resort to such tactics to enjoy the fruits of free promotion!