Appropriating Madras

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, a vogue for 'Creole' dress introduced Madras handkerchief headwraps to European fashion. Influential white women born and raised in the Greater Caribbean region appropriated Madras and other styles from African Caribbean fashion and brought them to Paris and London. In some parts of Europe, Madras headwraps became so popular they were engrained into local folk dress.

Although part of the appeal of 'Creole' fashions was their association with exoticized women of colour, African Caribbean women were not openly acknowledged as the sources of the style. Rather, African Caribbean fashion - like African Caribbean labour - was exploited for the benefit of European consumers.