A common situation that a lot of Indian American teen girls face is that they are told they can wear lengha or sari blouses but not crop tops. Although many parents have become more accepting of crop tops, the original hypocrisy still continues among many other parents. Most lengha and sari blouses are actually shorter than a lot of crop tops so why is it only okay to wear “revealing” clothing when it is traditional?
The modeling industry has always had a lack of diversity. Recently, there has been an increase in diversity with models of different body types and different races, but there isn’t nearly enough representation. Modeling agencies are always looking for their typical blue-eyed blonde models. Sabrina Behl, an American model of South Asian descent, wrote about her experience in the modeling industry in an Allure article. “While I was in school finishing my degree, I also started to pursue modeling. And that was the first time in my life that I was made so aware of my ethnicity by almost everyone I met.
Going into the field, I had no idea my Indian heritage would have such an impact on my career, that being Indian would be the sole reason why I wasn't considered for certain jobs. Early on, I signed with a couple of different agencies, but the fact that I was Indian was always an issue. It was always the reason I ‘couldn't’ be put up for the jobs I wanted. I've had agents tell me that I'd never be able to work for my dream clients because they ‘only like blondes.’
One of my most heartbreaking experiences occurred recently, when an agent outright told me that the only reason they couldn't sign me is because I'm Indian. The agency already represented two Indian girls, and a third one would just be ‘too much.’ He also told me that if I had blonde hair and blue eyes, he would have been able to sign me and add me to the list of 50 or so blonde-haired, blue-eyed models they already have.”
How come being Indian is considered “too much” for an agency who already has over 50 models with the same description? Societal expectations are that blue eyes and blonde hair are the most beautiful, but in reality this group of people only represents about 20% of the United States’ population.
Barbara Nicoli, Gucci’s casting agent, blames different culture’s body shapes for the lack of casting non-white models. “Ms. Nicoli said that ‘different races have different body shapes, which can be difficult when casting a fashion show. It’s also true that, for example, Caucasians have a specific body type, black girls have a specific body shape, and Asian girls have a specific body shape. So I guess there are some collections where it’s more perfect for an Asian body shape because they are more flat and less sexy, in a way. Asians, they are not curvy, so to put an Asian [who’s] very flat [with a] baby body shape in a show where normally the designer knows they love sexy, beautiful, curvy girls, it’s a bit of nonsense.’”
We do not agree with Barbara Nicoli’s statement against different body types in different ethnicities. If brands want to sell their products to as many different people as possible they should make an effort to be more inclusive by using models of all different races and body types. Their idea of a “perfect model” will not persuade every single customer into buying their product: customers crave representation.
Nina Davuluri was crowned Miss America in 2014. She was the first contestant of Indian descent to win the Miss American competition. She uses her platform “Celebrating Diversity through Cultural Competency” to promote cultural awareness and advance STEM education for women. Maia Spoto, a reporter for The Daily Northwestern listened to Davuluri’s speech at Cahn Auditorium in October 2019.
“Davuluri said she was one of four Indian kids in the small Oklahoma town where she grew up. She discussed how as a child, she tried to fit in with the white majority and was relieved when people told her she seemed ‘white on the inside.’
But when she joined the Indian Student Association at the University of Michigan, she ‘found a home’ in a huge community that she didn’t know existed.”
Davuluri herself went through a stage of living a double life and being unsure about her cultural identity. We are glad that she was able to find a community of people that she could relate to. Davuluri is now working on her documentary called COMPLEXion which discusses colorism, self-love, acceptance and diversity. We hope to see more of her work in the future and we are happy to know that she inspires many young girls and fights for representation!
Brandy Melville is a huge brand that millions of young adults and teens shop at. Although their clothes are very unique and stylish, Brandy Melville does not successfully represent the minorities of America. As the brand is huge, they should be representing all races, not just white. By incorporating other races, we believe that the brand’s sales will not only increase, but they will have overall higher respect. Some argue that any viewer of their website cannot tell the race of the girls used as models for the brand because on their website, the models’ heads are cut off. But, Brandy Melville relies on their social media accounts, such as Instagram and Twitter, to promote their brand, and on these pages, you can see the faces of the models. Brandy Melville includes some black representation, but of course, it is not enough. But, there is not a single Hispanic or South Asian model on their page. The problem is more specifically with younger girls. Younger brown girls may view their Instagram page and wonder, “Wait, am I not pretty enough for these clothes because only light skinned girls are modeling them?” Even though Brandy Melville includes a few black models, most of the models are light skinned black girls, which again, affects many races that have a variety of skin tones.
More people have noticed the exclusion of other races, and started speaking out about it, especially through the brand’s Instagram comments. Instead of Brandy Melville addressing this issue, or even attempting to resolve the problem, they continued to ignore consumers’ wants by turning off their Instagram comments. Some people have commented “Brandy Melville doesn’t have to include other races if they don’t want to”, but the problem is, by not having diverse models, the brand just comes off as racist. The way we see it is that since most of their models are white or light skinned, their target market is as well specific to only white or light skinned. A brand’s image is extremely important, and overall, we believe it is highly unethical to not include other races to represent their brand. There are thousands of girls ready to promote Brandy Melville, yet the brand continues to keep beauty standards tied up.
Namaslay Collective, a clothing company made by Avnee Mithaiwala, has gone viral, but not for the right reasons. This brand is made by an Indian girl, but appropriates and sexualizes Indian traditional wear. Below is an example of an outfit that she is selling on her website.
The fabric used to create this dress is clearly fabric that is commonly used to make sarees. On top of the misuse of the fabric, the titles given to the products are completely westernized. This specific piece of clothing is called “The Isis Goddess Set”, which has nothing to do with Indian Culture.
Here is another item called “The Turquoise Mirror Set”, worn by the creator. The creator has been called out by thousands of people, especially on her TikTok page, but still chooses to not listen. I mean, why would she? Her whole business would get shut down then.
The description of this product specifically says “Short in the front, long in the back so you can sit on the floor @ festivals”. The fact that she has created these products to be worn at music festivals, disappoints the entire Indian Community. There is a difference between creating modernized Indian clothes and completely sexualizing traditional clothing.
Speaking of music festivals, usually the “hindu” aesthetic is usually used as “fashion” for music festivals. Many celebrities, such as Kendall Jenner, Selena Gomez, and Vanessa Hudgens, have been called out for wearing bindis and nose rings. We’re all for cultural appreciation, but it becomes a problem when one is wearing accessories or clothing and they don’t even know the cultural significance behind it. In musical festivals, people use clothing items influenced from South Asia, but then the same people usually don’t like other aspects of Indian culture. One cannot pick and choose certain parts of a culture, just because it is “aesthetic”. For example, Kendall Jenner was called out for calling Indian food “so disgusting”, but continued to think it was okay to wear a big nose hoop, something that is worn in South Asian weddings, to a music festival.
Shein, a clothing company made by Chris Xu, is known for having inexpensive clothing. They sell all kinds of trendy clothing that would cost double or triple the amount from an established brand. However, some of the jewelry and clothing that they sell is simply unacceptable.
Shein was called out on multiple social media platforms for selling Muslim prayer mats as home decor with descriptions like “Fringe Trim Greek Fret Carpet” and “Flower Print Tassle Trim Carpet.” Some of the carpets in the photos had illustrations of the Ka'bah and mosques. Selling these items was very disrespectful and offensive but it doesn’t stop there.
Just a few days after Shein was being called out for selling Muslim prayer mats they were under fire for selling swastika necklaces. These necklaces were described as "metal swastika pendant necklace" To clarify, Shein was not selling a Nazi swastika pendant, the necklaces they were selling had a Hindu swastika and it symbolizes spirituality and good fortune. The Nazi swastika has a different design, it is pointed clockwise and tilted at an angle.
Shein also had traditional Indian clothing with the description “Floral Print Longline Top & Pants Set” up for sale. Firstly, Indian clothing should not be sold just for profit and just because “it looks good for the brand” and it’s more “exotic”. Also, they didn’t use a single South Asian model to show their clothes. They also went on to add the words “tribal” and “ethnic” to many other traditional clothes on their website.
It is important to boycott brands like Shein that use culture for profit. The only way we can create change in these companies that continue to grow is to stand up for what we believe in.
We believe that it is okay to wear Indian clothes or jewelry as a non-Indian, just learn the cultural significance behind it!
Come back next week to read our post on Interracial Dating/Marriage!