Fashion Nova Is Being Called Out For This 'Sexy' Geisha Halloween Costume

3 October 2018, 18:41

By Sam Prance

This is not on...

Halloween is swiftly approaching which means that people are already in the process of deciding what they are going to don on the big day. 2018 has already supplied us with its fair share of horror films (The Nun, Hereditary, A Quiet Place) so there's plenty of movies to inspire you for the beloved occasion if you are in the mood for something spooky. Not to mention, there are memes for days if you want to wear something hilarious.

However, every year brings with it, it's fair share of costumes that cause controversy on Twitter and 2018 is no different. One or two of them are pretty harmless (this Urban Outfitters influencer costume is lowkey hilarious!) but some of them are really problematic (it doesn't take a genius to realise that a sexy Handmaid's Tale costume is NOT okay). That being said it's this costume that takes the cake in terms of being offensive.

Fashion Nova
Fashion Nova. Picture: Fashion Nova

Fashion Nova unveiled a brand new Halloween outfit over the weekend and people are already taking to Twitter to call it out. The costume itself was originally listed on the site as a 'sexy geshia costume' according to Teen Vogue (yes they misspelled 'geisha') but it's since been edited. It now reads 'Geisha Costume - Black/Combo' but that doesn't take away from the fact that this costume is beyond insulting.

Many misconceptions still exist around geishas and costumes like this do nothing to help them. People often depict geishas as sex-workers but in reality they were assistants to courtesans and also "vital providers of hospitality and entertainment at dinner events for large companies and government officials" in Japan. Costumes like this simply reinforce stereotypes and are forms of cultural appropriation.

Fashion Nova isn't alone in using Halloween as a means to profit off of Japanese culture. Retail outlets often turn traditional garments into costumes without any respect or consideration for the cultures that they're from. Unsurprisingly, the internet isn't impressed by this sort of thing and people are taking to Twitter to remind people what it's not okay to dress up as for Halloween.

Here are just a few of the tweets.