Oh boy. This is always a fun topic. Or, wait, maybe it's actually a topic fraught with peril, potential misunderstandings, accidental racism, and general bad vibes. Yeah, it's the latter. Because now we're going to talk about cultural appropriation, specifically the case of U.K.-based brand KTZ, which recently came under fire for copying a sacred Inuit garment to create a design in its fall 2015 collection. 

This all came to light when the CBC spoke with Salome Awa, the great-granddaughter of the shaman who designed the caribou-skin parka. Awa said that KTZ copied her relative's design without asking permission, and was, understandably, less than pleased. "I was furious. I was angry. I was upset. I was in shock, most of all," Awa told CBC radio show As It Happens. "It was an exact duplicate copy."

KTZ quickly yanked the item from its online store, promised to remove it from physical locations,  and apologized in a letter in which the brand explained that it "has always been inspired by and paid homage to indigenous cultures and tribes around the world." It continued: "It's part of KTZ's DNA to celebrate multiculturalism as a form of art and to encourage appreciation for traditions, ethnicities and religions' diversity." 

OK, let's get something straight: this is a copy. The argument falls a little flat when it's abundantly clear that the design was plagiarized. But let's keep digging a bit. 

Because there is some validity to the idea that there's a line between appreciation and appropriation. The thing is, it's a thin one. Very thin. And if you're not able to stay on the right side of it by, say, not modeling a fashion item after a sacred garment, you're going to get in trouble. 

You might counter that the folks at KTZ likely had no idea the parka was sacred. You'd probably be right! We don't necessarily doubt their good intentions. But we don't doubt their ignorance either, at least when it comes to Canadian Inuit culture. 

And that ignorance is the problem. With a lack of fundamental understanding of the culture being pumped for design inspiration, there's always the danger that a designer will shift from appreciating to appropriating without even noticing. Then, the whole damn enterprise gets flipped on its head. Instead of venerating a culture, we denigrate it. 

Not exactly fair recompense for all that "inspiration." 

If you'd like to read the whole letter, which Awa calls "bittersweet" because it fails to offer compensation or mention of her great grandfather, the text is below. 

Dear Salome 

Thank you so much for contacting us and for giving us a chance to express our point of view.

Over the last 20 years KTZ has always been inspired by and paid homage to indigenous cultures and tribes around the world.

It's part of KTZ's DNA to celebrate multiculturalism as a form of art and to encourage appreciation for traditions, ethnicities and religions' diversity. 

At the time the piece in question was released (January 2015) the Inuit community was credited in our press release and online features, for example http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2015-menswear/ktz

KTZ is a very small UK based company - with a team counting less than 15 people employed across the globe and with ethnic backgrounds ranging from Macedonian, Greek, Portuguese, Polish, German, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Nigerian, Chinese and Indonesian. Our work is never intended to offend any community or religion.

We sincerely apologise to you and anyone who felt offended by our work as it certainly wasn't our intention. 

We have already removed the item from sale online and will remove the item in question from our stores.

Kindest regards

KTZ