Cultural Authentication: Historical Narratives of African Clothing, Identity, and Heritage

There is growing consumer interest in things that are “unspoiled, pristine, genuine, untouched, and traditional” (Handler 1986, 2); and this is captured in a wide variety of market offerings and experiences such as retro brands (Brown, Kozinets and Sherry, 2003), reality shows (Rose and Wood 2005), retail environments (Peñaloza 1998), among a host of other examples. Past studies empirically demonstrate how postmodern conditions such as globalization, deterritorialization, and hyperreality (Arnould and Price, 2000) motivate consumer demand for cultural authenticity. The impact of postmodernity is undeniably potent, yet it may easily lead scholars to conceptualize the desire for the “authentic” as solely a reaction to the loss of meaning and disenchantment. This perception leads some to declare authenticity a “hoax” (Potter 2010). More importantly, the obsession with postmodernism leads to overlooking the importance of history, thereby portraying an incomplete understanding of cultural authentication (see Peñaloza 2001 and Oswald 1999 for notable exceptions). Ohnuki-Tierney (2005) argues that scholars’ obsession with postmodernism “has led some to deny histories, even in the plural, of a particular people” (Ohnuki-Tierney 2005, 181-183). Calls have also been made in consumer research to not only explore “cultural history through the commodity form” (Arnould and Thompson 2005, 876), but also note the importance of history as a “source of market value” (Peñaloza 2000, 105) and a “cultural maker of legitimacy and authenticity” (Brown, Kozinets, and Sherry 2003, 19).