Daily Times

What goes around comes around, and now, it seems like we are back in an era where people have started to show their inclination towards the odd, the bold and the familiar.

Gone are the days when we used to show ourselves off in latest bell-bottomed and cropped hemmed trends. Recent revamp of the ‘mod scot’ outlook, bags traditional dresses in undeniably fascinating and conventional styles, presented in this day and age in a modern manner, and this definitely sells! International brands such as Zara, have recently come under the spotlight for catering to the demands of women, with a lungi-like thing that they call the ‘check mini skirt’. The brand sells this iconic style of the aesthetic ensemble for $89.90, which sums up to about a total of Rs 10,000.

And this is what it looks like:

Those who’ve spotted the mini skirt, a brown, flowing design with a tie at the front, say that it looks almost identical in design to the very popular lungi/dhoti, which sells for as little as £5. People all over the internet have been pretty furious with Zara’s latest high-end statement piece that has come under fire for ‘cultural appropriation.’ Their latest design closely mimics the lungi, a skirt commonly wrapped around the waist by men, in different variations of their own.

Here’s Farhan Akhtar and company having some fun in their own choice of lungi, slightly different than Zara’s go ahead, of course.

This is not the first time attire from the subcontinent has become the definitive source of inspiration for fashion powerhouses around the globe. In the Spring/Summer 2016 menswear collection, in Milan, Italian designer Donatella Versace took her creative genius from our very own line of shalwar kameez. And back in early 2016, young brands like Urban Outfitters and Forever 21 made use of the popular block printed pattern of ajrak, a product of Sindhi culture, under the guise of “Baroque” print, used in frilly short skirts, dresses and even bikinis.

Zara also previously infused local concepts of style and comfort in their embroidered kotis (waistcoats). Here’s a picture for you to remember.

The question, however, is: is the lungi style here to stay? What are your comments?