Luxury fashion brand Gucci has come under fire for selling Sikh turbans at Nordstrom, an American chain of luxury department stores. The brand had previously faced flak when the accessory had debuted in a runway show in 2018 at Milan Fashion Week, reported Time.
On Wednesday, 15 May, people called out the Italian fashion house once more for selling the Indian headdress, which it was calling as “Indy Full Head Wrap”, as a high end fashion accessory, disregarding its religious significance.
The turban is a headgear worn by Sikhs to identify themselves as members of their faith and is considered sacred.
On Nordstrom's online shopping website, Gucci described the product as a “gorgeously crafted turban” that is “ready to turn heads while keeping you in comfort as well as trademark style”. While it is currently listed as sold out, screenshots taken by netizens show that the product was priced at nearly $790.
"The Sikh turban is not just a fashion accessory, but it’s also a sacred religious article of faith,” the New York-based Sikh Coalition, an advocacy organisation, tweeted. “We hope more can be done to recognize this critical context,” the group said.
The group criticised Gucci for its "cultural appropriation", saying it was inappropriate. It also added that they had reached out to Gucci and Nordstrom to explain their concerns.
This is not the first time Gucci has found itself in the middle of a controversy like this. Earlier this year, it had released a wool sweater that was reminiscent of 'Blackface', a form of theatrical make-up used predominantly by non-black performers to represent a caricature of a black person. Gucci was slammed for this move and eventually withdrew the sweater and issued an apology, reported NBC.
‘Article of Faith, Not a Cute Accessory’
Many Indian Sikhs from the United States and Britain took to Twitter to slam Gucci for this “cultural appropriation” and also pointed out the high price that the luxury brand was selling the Sikh headgear for.
Some even pointed out that Sikhs were attacked and killed in some countries for how they looked, questioning how corporations wanted to profit off that look now.
(With inputs from Time and NBC.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)