Italian fashion house Gucci is selling a dress that bears a striking resemblance to the traditional Indian kurta, and netizens have a lot to say about it. The ‘organic linen kaftan’ with floral embroidery retails for $3,500 (₹2.5 lakh approximately) on the luxury brand’s website. Customers have the option of paying in monthly installments to buy it.
Not only did the prices shock them, but the design itself infuriated many out there. “Just proves that white people will buy anything if it’s branded,” one user said.
This is not the first time that Gucci has come under fire for cultural appropriation. In 2018, Gucci sent models down the runway in a variety of headwear – from elaborate headdresses to hijabs and turbans. Their use of turbans for a fashion show was heavily criticised, with Twitter users pointing out that turbans are an important part of the Sikh religion and should therefore not have been used as fashion accessories.
American reality TV star Kim Kardashian had also faced the wrath of the netizens for wearing long hoop earrings featuring the ‘Om’ symbol in a photoshoot.
A lot of accessories and clothes from our culture have been ‘adapted’ into haute couture that is bought by the westerners on a daily basis in a bid to accept something that was considered ‘primitive’ not very long ago.
