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Can we stop dressing celebrities in looted ancient artefacts?

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Brighton, UK
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Zendaya is the latest star facing backlash for her red-carpet fashion choices – this time sporting a pair of ancient Iranian artefacts to promote Christopher Nolan’s latest film The Odyssey.

Only a handful of stars have the fashion world under their thumb quite like Zendaya (and her trusty stylist Law Roach). But the actor has faced a rare wave of backlash for her latest outfit choice. While promoting Christopher Nolan’s epic The Odyssey in London, Zendaya paired a simple white dress with statement gold earrings crafted from ancient Iranian artefacts dating back to 700BC.

The styling choice places Zendaya on a long list of celebrities who’ve ruffled feathers with their red-carpet looks. Kim Kardashian famously wore a dress once owned by Marilyn Monroe to the 2022 Met Gala, despite the piece being housed in a museum where it could be preserved and protected.

Now, Zendaya’s earrings have triggered a fresh discussion around the limits we should place on famous wardrobes. The jewellery belongs to Barron London, a Mayfair-based gallery and art dealer whose website states: ‘With a reputation for discretion, the gallery works privately with collectors, estates and institutions to uncover and place pieces of significance.’

But the origin of Zendaya’s earrings has been flagged by archaeology professor Peter Edwell, who called out the phrase ‘undisclosed origin’ as listed by Barron London. This ‘generally indicates the artefact has, at some point, been plundered illegally,’ Edwell told Complex.

This is ‘obviously a huge problem’ tied to broader criminal trade networks, he added. ‘Artefact smuggling is run by criminal gangs and organised crime syndicates – a sophisticated, multi-level, international practice.’

According to a statement from Barron London, the artefacts used to create the earrings ‘are attributed to the Ziwiye hoard, discovered in north-western Iran in the late 1940s.’

The hoard was a trove of gold, silver, bronze and terracotta discovered in 1947 before being looted by shepherds. According to a 2015 research paper, the surviving pieces were ‘sold in antique markets out of Iran in the 1960s’ and ‘are now scattered in different museums and private collections.’

Professor Sussan Babaie, an Iranian-born art historian at the Courtauld Institute, was outraged by the decision to style Zendaya in the pieces.

‘[It’s] shocking to see that no one thought that maybe this is not a good idea,’ Babaie said. ‘There is not enough cultural knowledge and cultural sensibility among those who dress [celebrities], those who accessorise them, those who put them up as symbols of beauty and power and an expression of the movie’s high-mindedness.’

Add to that the fact that these looted artefacts are often worn to events promoting a product, whether that’s a film, an album or something else entirely. It reflects Western institutions’ enduring hold over ancient artefacts despite mounting calls for them to be returned to their original communities and countries.

As knowledge of historical looting and the trauma embedded within these stolen objects continues to spread, our cultural consciousness is shifting. More people are questioning how and why certain institutions have been granted ownership over the belongings of others – and, crucially, how those items are displayed and used.

With such sensitive history tied up in artefacts like Zendaya’s earrings, it’s striking that celebrities still choose to wear these treasured objects as fashion accessories.

When Kim Kardashian wore Marilyn Monroe’s dress in 2022, her team staunchly denied rumours that the piece had been damaged, despite images appearing to show Kardashian squeezed into the dress and wearing a fur shawl to conceal its open back.

‘When you buy something of such significance,’ said Scott Fortner at the time – a collector who owns several Monroe artefacts – ‘you really need to stick to your word to protect and preserve it… and clearly that didn’t happen.’

Others, however, have taken a different view when celebrities are seen wearing historically significant objects. Dr Annelise Baer faced criticism after appearing to defend Zendaya’s decision, arguing that the real issue lies not with the celebrities themselves, but with the circulation of the artefacts.

‘Zendaya wearing them is kind of a secondary fact,’ Baer said in a video. ‘But because she has worn them on a red carpet for a major international movie premiere, this has suddenly put all of that into the public eye in a way that we haven’t really seen before.’

But as Babaie points out, exposure is neither a virtue nor an excuse. The jewellery was never ‘meant to be displayed,’ she argued. ‘These objects [are not] accessories. [They’re] human heritage. [They’re] world heritage.’

At what point does a red-carpet moment stop being fashion and start becoming the commodification of history? Ancient artefacts are more than beautiful objects to be worn for a premiere or a photo call. They carry the historical weight of cultures and communities that deserve far more than a fleeting fashion statement.

Enjoyed this? Click here for more Gen Z focused style stories.

Senior Remote Writer Brighton, UK

I’m Flo, (She/Her) a Senior Remote Writer at Thred. I recently completed a Masters in Visual Anthropology, and seek to interrogate the ways digital spaces can amplify marginalised voices in the arts and cultural sectors. Follow me on LinkedIn or ping me some feedback via email.

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