Today in “fashion-brands-appropriate-other-cultures”…
British fashion retailer ASOS has found itself in hot water after putting up for sale an accessory normally worn by South Asian brides and labeling it a “chandelier hair clip.”
The maang tikka, sometimes known as a tikli, is a traditional hair accessory worn at the top of the forehead and supposed to represent the third eye.
The retailer, known for borrowing from a wide range of cultures in its clothes and accessory range, was accused of being “lazy” for not taking the time to learn the accessory’s real name and reducing it to a mere “hair clip.”
London-based Twitter user Aisha Haque was the first person to challenge the company over the piece of jewelry.
“I found it more frustrating than anything. It was a clear lack of knowledge on Asos’ behalf,” she told Global News Canada. “You can’t just blatantly take something from another culture and give no acknowledgment. That is highly offensive.”
Writer Shehnaz Khan also commented: “Wow really @ASOS??? The ignorance whether accidental or not is real. Brb going to put on one of my many chandelier hair clips fam
“Dear @ASOS,” one Twitter user wrote. “If you really want to be a cultural appropriation enabler, the least you can do is call it a Tikka, not a chandelier hair clip!!”
“If asos can take the time to design a tikli/tikka surely they can spare a second to respect its actual name ? Ignorant af” said another Twitter user by with the handle @sanjana.
This is not the first time the brand has found itself at the center of a controversy over its buyers’ choices.