An Indian entrepreneur accused an American fashion brand of repackaging a traditional Indian saree as a Western-style dress, sparking a cultural appropriation debate.
An Indian entrepreneur accused an American fashion brand of repackaging a traditional Indian saree as a Western-style dress, sparking a cultural appropriation debate. Arshia Moorjani, entrepreneur and founder of beauty brand Meri Stori, called out US-based fashion label JW PEI in an Instagram video, alleging that its “Botanical Embellished Draped Overlay Maxi Dress” is nothing but a traditional Indian saree.
Questioning the product’s description, Moorjani said, “Are we joking here? It just bothers me so much because this happens time and time again, where not even inspiration y’all, this is just copy and paste of a saree, is taken from India and then repackaged to be like this cool new silhouette.”
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Moorjani also shared a screenshot of the outfit from JW PEI’s website, where it was listed for $229, roughly Rs 21,917.
While she stressed that she welcomes the growing representation of Indian culture in global fashion, she argued that brands must acknowledge the origins of designs. “We need the credit, where the credit is due. Calling this an embellished draped overlay maxi dress is a f–ng joke," she said.
The entrepreneur also highlighted the importance of diversity within fashion companies, saying representation should extend beyond models featured in campaigns to the teams responsible for creating, naming and marketing products.
“This is also why it’s so important for brands to have diversity on the back end, because I promise you, if JW PEI had any Indian person, I don’t know if they do or not, but I would imagine that they would call it out and be like, oh yeah, that’s a saree, not an embellished dress. So this is why it’s important," she explained.
Her post has since gained significant traction online, with many users applauding her for raising the issue, while others criticised the fashion label for allegedly presenting a traditional Indian garment as a newly styled Western creation.
