French high fashion brand Chanel has come under fire for appropriating Aboriginal culture by selling a boomerang that retails for almost $2,000.
The black “wood and resin” boomerang — priced at $1,930 — is one of several items available in the “other accessories” line of Chanel’s recently-launched 2017 spring-summer pre-collection.
The collection also includes a $2,220 tennis racquet, $4,860 set of beach racquets and balls and a “price available on request” paddle board.
The boomerang came to prominence on social media when American make-up artist and vlogger Jeffree Star posted photos of the item — which he is presumed to own.
Social media users have ridiculed the whole collection as exorbitantly priced, but the boomerang has come under particular condemnation for appropriating Indigenous Australian culture.
One user wrote: “Cultural appropriation hits a new low — I sincerely hope that Chanel is donating all the profits to underprivileged Aboriginal communities.”
Writer and activist Nayuka Gorrie wrote: “Have decided to save for the next three years so I can connect with my culture via Chanel.”
The National Museum of Australia describes boomerangs as playing “an important role in Aboriginal culture as objects of work and leisure”, but following the arrival of Europeans in Australia they became popular as a souvenir by the late 19th century.