One of the best things about fashion is that you never know when trends of yesteryear be will hitting the ramp yet again with a little twist and improvisation. However, while taking inspiration is encouraged; selling the same product with a different name without crediting the source is a major transgression. And the fashion industry doesn’t ignore such fashion faux pas. Well, this British brand received unsparing criticism for conveniently selling ‘desi’ dresses with ‘firangi’ names.
According to reports, the British clothing company Thrifted.com faced online flak for selling ‘Asian salwar kameezes’ as ‘vintage Boho dresses’ for $36.19 (Rs. 2,567 approx.) and above. Reports suggest the company that started as University sideline business now operates worldwide as a top ASOS seller. It has been extensively criticised for cultural appropriation.
A twitter user shared the screenshot of the dresses and captioned it: “vintage boho dress????? girl u got on a damn kameez with no salwar”
Netizens were not impressed with the brand’s callousness. They took to Twitter to voice their displeasure-
Not to mention the fact that hey're selling an incomplete outfit for 36 whopping dollars🤣🤣🤣
— april⁷ 🌼 (@aprilyoongi0309) September 10, 2019
There's a well established term for this, it's called cultural appropriation.
— ConsciousSara-h (@sarahm51214) September 10, 2019
Really concerned what happened to the salwars or pyajamis of these kurtas. Or are they sold separately as vintage boho chic colourful indie oriental exotic pants? 🤔🤔
— Neha (@_Neha_G) September 10, 2019
That second photo especially just really looks like she forgot to put on trousers
— Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 (@kixes) September 10, 2019
The red one is cut from the sides. It's a damn kurta! Where your damn pants!
— MeghaSharma (@crazyabtsrk) September 10, 2019
It seems consignment of Salwars/ churidaars was lost in transit! 🤭
— Poha_Jalebi (@IndoreNagpur) September 10, 2019
Look! It’s not just our culture they’re ripping off 🙃 pic.twitter.com/VfQYhfJuqn
— Olive🌼 (@alamkaur) September 10, 2019
Isn't that why the girl looks unhappy.
— It's a long night. (@SachcheBol) September 10, 2019
Soon after their outfits drew flak, a spokesperson from the brand sought to clear the air. “Thrifted.com purchased a bulk mix of vintage/secondhand dresses from a supplier who had labelled them as “boho”. ‘They were then listed on the website under this name. It was brought to the customer service team’s attention that not all of these secondhand dresses were actually boho dresses. Some were, in fact, south Asian salwar kameezes. All of these items were then removed from our website. We apologise for any offence caused. We are updating our stock checking system as a result,” they explained.
First ‘turmeric latte’ then ‘vintage boho dresses’, we wonder what’s next, onion pizza with vegetable-lentil stew? *arrrgh*