Controversial H&M Headdress Pulled From Stores

Seriously, who at these companies approves these things?

This is a headdress accessory that's being sold in H&M stores in Canada.

huffingtonpost.com

It's issued as part of the brand's "H&M Loves Music" collection, featuring clothes and accessories designed to be worn at music festivals.

hm.com

Apparently, the headdress is also being sold for £7.99 in the U.K.

Zoe Todd @ZoeSTodd

In the further adventures of cultural appropriation in the UK: you too can own an H&M 'headdress' for �a37.99!

10:10 PM - 14 Jul 2013

Zoe Todd

@ZoeSTodd

In the further adventures of cultural appropriation in the UK: you too can own an H&M 'headdress' for

Naturally, some people are a little upset. Kim Wheeler, an Ojibwa-Mohawk woman from Winnipeg, wrote to the company complaining that the headdress was offensive.

"[The headdressess] are a sign of honour and respect and leadership, they’re not a cute accessory to be worn in a nightclub while people are dancing to music,” Wheeler, who saw the headdresses for sale when shopping with her daughter in Vancouver, told CTV. "My first instinct was to buy all of them and throw them in the garbage."

An H&M spokesperson said that the headdresses have subsequently been removed from all of H&M's Canadian locations.

ctvnews.ca

“Of course we never want to offend anybody or come off as insensitive,” Emily Scarlett, a company spokesperson, said. “We’re always about being there for our customers.”

This isn't the first time a retailer has landed in hot water by presenting a Native American-style headdress as a fashion accessory.

Getty / Jamie McCarthy

In 2012, model Karlie Kloss walked in the Victoria's Secret fashion show wearing a full-length headdress along with a fringed bikini and high-heeled moccasins. Both Kloss and Victoria's Secret later apologized and removed the look from TV footage.

Last month, Nicole Richie drew ire after posting an Instagram of her and a friend sporting headdresses and hanging out in front of a teepee.

indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com

And of course, Beyoncé wears a headdress in her recent H&M commercial.

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