When does historical fancy dress become inappropriate?

A few days ago, global superstar Adele turned 30, celebrating the milestone as many would expect her to with an extravagant party fit for a celebrity of her stature.

Adele decided to theme her birthday party around one of her favourite films Titanic, dressing as principal character Rose and having all of her guests follow suit with period costumes.

While the singer made it clear that her party was inspired by her love of the film, some have found her choice of theme distasteful considering the fact that the sinking of the RMS Titanic ship was a real event that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 people.

One person wrote on Twitter that the photos shared on Adele’s Instagram account from the bash made them feel “disturbed”, particularly as she can be seen dancing with her guests while wearing a life jacket.

“I get she’s celebrating her love of the movie but dancing in life jackets?? Come on Adele,” another individual commented.

The controversial nature of Adele’s birthday party has instigated a debate about historical fancy dress and whether the amount of time passed since a tragic event can make it less poignant in the eyes of society.

“Genuine question: how much time has to pass before history feels distant enough to be fodder? Just the survivors need to pass? Or their families?” someone asked in response to the Titanic theme.

“We clearly desensitise the past after some point but how long?”

The question has received a mix of responses, with one person stating that they believe a gap of three generations would be the minimum amount of time required before desensitisation of the past can be deemed appropriate.

Another individual pointed out that it depends on the gravity of the event in question, writing that atrocities like the Holocaust or the slave trade should never be taken lightly.

In April, a politics student at Bristol University was lambasted for naming the theme of his 21st birthday party as “Night of the Raj”, detailing the dress code as “colonial chic”.

While he was criticised for his evident use of cultural appropriation, the backlash also highlighted his choice to commemorate the colonialism of the British Empire, which he described on the invitation as “the glory days of the early 20th Century”.

In 2005, Prince Harry famously came under fire after he was pictured dressed in what appeared to be a Nazi costume at a party.

The then 20-year-old was seen wearing a red armband adorned with a swastika, for which he publicly apologised through a statement swiftly released by Clarence House.

Schools in Thailand and Australia have also been condemned for encouraging students to dress up in Nazi regalia in the past.

A female pupil of Sacred Heart Catholic School in Chiang Mai was seen leading a sports day procession in 2011 dressed as Adolf Hitler, while a school in Perth was forced to issue an apology in 2010 after rewarding a boy wearing a Hitler costume with a best dressed award.

There are evidently some historical events that will always be viewed as off-bounds when it comes to fancy dress, including the Holocaust and the slave trade as mentioned above.

However, if there's the slightest chance that your choice of costume could be regarded as culturally or historically insensitive, then it may be a good idea to reconsider.