How Kim Kardashian Used Controversy To Her Advantage

Marius Carlos, Jr.

Did Kim Kardashian-West really commit an innocent mistake,

or was everything a clever move to trigger talk about Kimono
Solutionwear?

The current brouhaha about Kim Kardashian-West’s new fashion line has
gotten almost all of the media outlets up in arms. Kim’s Kimono
Solutionwear was announced earlier in the month on Twitter, and both
Japanese and non-Japanese commentators are wagging their fingers on
Kim’s seemingly unforgiveable cultural faux pas.

#KimOhNo

Social media has been ablaze with comments against Kimono Solutionwear,
and one editor and writer, Masahito Sato, tweeted that what Kim had done
was “a blasphemy against Japanese culture. Can’t someone from kimono-
related organizations protest? This is terrible.”

Another Twitter user, Yoko Moncol, used the hashtag #KimOhNo to

express her disdain in the loose and seemingly irresponsible way that the
celebrity had used the name of the traditional Japanese garb: “Kim, I’m
sure your shapewear’s nice, but please don’t take the name of a
beautiful, traditional Japanese wardrobe and use it for your undies. This
is me in various kimonos over the years. Hairstyle may not be
traditional, but my kimonos sure were! #KimOhNo”

The endless barrage of posts and tweets against Kim Kardashian-West

continues to spark online debate, with people suggesting that Kim had
crossed the line from being inspired to outright cultural appropriation.

This is highlighted more clearly by Yoshifumi Nakazaki, the deputy

director of the Japan Kimono League: “It’s not just kimono as clothes
but kimono as a name that is the common asset, not just for those of us
who live in the modern era, but for the history of the Japanese people
that has been accumulated over the years. Generally speaking, it is
unthinkable for a Japanese person to register kimono for a trademark.
That would be impossible.”

Why Are People Angry?

Would people be reacting in the same way if Kim Kardashian had

created an anime-inspired line of shapewear? Not really. Would they be
reacting violently if Kim created cowboy-inspired bras and panties?
Probably not. But she chose to engage in wordplay to combine her name
and the name of the Japenese kimono. Why?

The answer is simple: controversy. Everyone knows the drill: all

publicity, even negative publicity, is good publicity. By getting a large
chunk of the Internet interested in the line, Kim has made another sharp
business move. The backlash may look severe now, but we have to
realize at this point that the backlash is due to the fashion line’s name,
and not for any other reason. Compare that to stories of how Beyonce’s
fashion line is created by sweatshop labor and you can compare the
effects of the online murmurs.

“My Intentions Were Innocent” – Kim

But then again, Kim plays the innocent card with the statements she
gave to WSJ Magazine. “You would think we would have obviously
thought it through a little bit deeper I’m the first person to say, ‘Okay, of
course, I can’t believe we didn’t think of this. I obviously had really
innocent intentions. But, let’s listen. And I want to really listen. And I
want to really take it all in,” the 38 year old star said in the interview.

It doesn’t really matter at this point what Kim’s intentions were. She
didn’t break any laws by naming her clothing brand Kimono. She may
have angered the Japanese, yes, but her brand is probably going to focus
on North American markets, as she intended to release shapewear in
much larger sizes.
The Real Reason

Kimono Solutionwear will consist of bikini briefs, thongs, bras, waist

trimmers/shapers, and other commonly used garments and
undergarments. They will be retailed from $28 to $98, and the available
sizes will be from XXS to 4XL.

Think about that for a moment: 4XL. Not many countries can say that
their populations have a significant market for quadruple extra large
clothes. We’re just putting this out here in case anyone is thinking that it
was all just an innocent mistake, or the entrepreneur Kim Kardashian
was just being “an ugly American.” Well, maybe she was, but her it’s
her business savvy that’s really shining through at this point. And we
await her next move.