A hairpin that shook cyber world

Britain’s largest online fashion retailer ASOS was recently slammed for erasure. The company put up for sale an accessory, very similar to the South Asian maang teeka, and renamed it as a chandelier head clip. The shoppers were not happy about it and many took to social media to express their outrage.

“I don’t understand the problem here,” says stylist Nitash Gaurav. “There are many communities in India which wouldn’t know what a maang teeka is, then how do we expect the people in the West to know it. People are experimenting with fashion or styles of other cultures; there is nothing wrong in it,” Nitasha adds.

Many Indian jewellery pieces have been rehashed in the past too, to make it more relevant for local customers. “It’s not just about the jewellery but other Indian products too are being renamed and sold in the international market. So, I feel what is more important is to take pride in our culture, rather than engaging in such petty arguments,” says jewellery designer Praveena Rao of the brand Anantham.

One must also understand that fashion and cultural exchanges between societies has been taking place since the ancient times. Celebrity stylist Tanya Ghavri emphasises that these exchanges help evolve new fashion trends. “Indo-western fashion in the new trend. Also, the fashion world has always taken inspirations from all the cultures around the world. A harem pant, for example, is actually a traditional outfit from the middle-east, however it became such a fashion rage among the youngsters. Sari, is another traditional outfit which is being experimented with a lot.” Tanya says.