Zara faces backlash for cultural appropriation

From Ajrak block printed shirts to kohlapuris, Western brands have always looked towards lesser recognized cultures not to seek inspiration but to blatantly replicating significant elements of their culture, without any acknowledgment for the people who emanated the  characteristic.

This time it’s the celebrated international brand Zara that is facing immense backlash for mimicking what we simply know as a ‘lungi’, and calling it a ‘mini check skirt’.

The highstreet fashion brand illustrated this lungi-styled cloth as a “flowing skirt with draped detail in the front. 

Front slit detail at the hem. Zip fastening in the back hidden along the seam.” The description checks off all the boxes that our very own lungi would be depicted as.

Worn by men mostly in the rural parts of India and Pakistan, lungi costs not more than a dollar or two, whereas this capitalist franchise is charging $89.9 for it.

In the recent past, famous American fast fashion brands Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters had also caused massive social media rage with their Ajrak printed swimsuits and dresses titled ‘Morrocan Print Swimsuit’ and ‘Baroque Print Dress’.

 Those who identify the design, know that it holds an enormous amount of significance religiously as well as culturally in the Sindhi way of life.