It is really disappointing to acknowledge that the Western culture has copied our ‘Sindhi Ajrak’ tradition to launch popular fashion lines of their own brands.
The famous western brand, Forever 21 has being accused of stealing Sindh’s traditional Ajrak print and launched their own fashion line by naming it as “Baroque Print”.
However, Forever 21 is not the only fashion outlet that is indulged in cultural appropriation, another American fashion outlet named, Urban Outfitters, who went pretty far in creating cringe-worthy products. The brand not just made Ajrak dresses, coats and skirts, but undergarments and swimsuits were also a huge part of Urban Outfitters fashion brand. The company for which then named the tailored piece a ‘Moroccan’ print.
Ajrak is our pride and our heritage, it is considered as a symbol of honour. Nobody can simply steal it and make whatever they want and launch their own fashion line just like that. Of course, it is said that the western companies took an inspiration from the east. But, sometimes, it’s a lot more than just inspiration, it’s an insult to our culture. They can not just steal something from us and turn it into a silly moneymaking mockery.
The fashion line that they created is merely a copy of our local products, ripping off foreign customers, fooling them and apparently people end up paying a hefty price for replicas of our local products.
