Luxury fashion brand Gucci received backlash for selling a turban on their site for $800.
The turban first appeared on Gucci’s fall 2018 runway line worn by white models, according to a report published Thursday by Page Six. The turban was reportedly listed on their site at $800, but has since been marked as sold out.
Critics of Gucci selling the turban call the product cultural appropriation.
Dear NON-SIKHS …. don’t waste $750 buying a fake n fancy @gucci turban from @Nordstrom !! You can inbox me your location and I can arrange FREE lessons in Turban tying in most places and provide cloth material..FREE ! Any colour ..@cnni @AJEnglish @jonsnowC4 pic.twitter.com/olrE5z1JYR
— ravinder singh (@RaviSinghKA) May 14, 2019
“The turban is not just a fashion accessory to monetize, but a religious article of faith that millions of Sikhs around the world view as sacred,” the Sikh Coalition said in a statement to NBC News.
Social media influencer Harjinder Singh Kukreja tweeted out her thoughts on the Gucci piece. (RELATED: Gucci Apologizes For Selling ‘Blackface’ Sweater)
Dear @gucci, the Sikh Turban is not a hot new accessory for white models but an article of faith for practising Sikhs. Your models have used Turbans as ‘hats’ whereas practising Sikhs tie them neatly fold-by-fold. Using fake Sikhs/Turbans is worse than selling fake Gucci products pic.twitter.com/sOaKgNmgwR
— Harjinder Singh Kukreja (@SinghLions) May 16, 2019
“Dear @gucci, the Sikh Turban is not a hot new accessory for white models but an article of faith for practising Sikhs. Your models have used Turbans as ‘hats’ whereas practising Sikhs tie them neatly fold-by-fold. Using fake Sikhs/Turbans is worse than selling fake Gucci products,” Kukreja said.
.@gucci @Nordstrom The Sikh turban is not just a fashion accessory, but it’s also a sacred religious article of faith. We hope more can be done to recognize this critical context. #appropriation https://t.co/p1z3CYq0NT
— Sikh Coalition (@sikh_coalition) May 15, 2019
The backlash comes months after Gucci came under fire for a sweater that was reminiscent of blackface. Gucci removed the sweater from their product line and reportedly put together a committee to oversee diversity.