Indigenous

New MAC cosmetics collection called out on Twitter for cultural appropriation

Last week MAC Cosmetics' new collection of makeup called Vibe Tribe hit the stores. Some say Vibe Tribe draws heavily from Navajo culture.

Some say MAC's new Vibe Tribe line draws heavily from Navajo culture

According to MAC Cosmetics' website, their new line, Vibe Tribe, is influenced by desert festivals. Excerpt of promotional poster. (Stephanie Cram)

Last week MAC Cosmetics' new collection of makeup, called Vibe Tribe, hit the stores. Some say Vibe Tribe draws heavily from Navajo culture.

The company's website says the line is influenced by summer festivals, but with product names such as Arrowhead, Wild Horses, Call of the Canyon and Adobe Brick, others believe the cosmetic company is walking a fine line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation.

"Every year, hundreds of thousands of people escape everyday life for music and art festivals in some of the most barren and forbidding places on earth," states the promo on the company's website. 

"While these gatherings might vary slightly from their prehistoric, sun-worshiping forbearers, the purpose is still largely the same. Sure, the bearskins have been replaced by pasties, and Druids swapped for Drizzy."

MAC Cosmetics describes the designs as "geographic patterns in eye-catching hues."

MAC was created by Canadian Frank Toskan in 1984, but was sold to American company Estée Lauder in 1998.

The company has lead the way in retail philanthropy, starting the MAC AIDS fund in 1994 to raise money for HIV/AIDS research by donating 100 per cent of sales from their Viva Glam lipstick line. The company co-founders also started the Toskan Casale Foundation, which promotes philanthropy among youth.

Despite MAC's dedication to raising money for a good cause, the new collection has some consumers calling for people to boycott the company.