I don’t think there’s much need to explain the problems with Karlie Kloss’s “Native American headdress replica” and bikini ensemble at Victoria Secret’s recent fashion show. As Nika Mavrody wrote at The Fashion Spot:

The headdress as fashion accessory relies on and reinforces stereotypes of Native Americans, a minority culture and race… I don’t know anything, but I do know that the headdress belongs to a specific spiritual practice, and commodifying it to sell corporate panties for Christmas — or a pouty-lipped pop star’s latest albums — fits nicely into the genocide-y, pillage-y relationship America has with American Indians.

The sexualized use of the headdress is particularly disturbing given the disproportionate rates of sexual violence against Native Americans. The last ...