Daily Times

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been ridiculed on social media by Indians for his ‘tacky’ and over the top outfit choices while on his first visit to their nation as Prime Minister.

While many praised his clothing during the first two days of his trip, patience was wearing thin by the time he attended a Bollywood gala on Tuesday night, before the tide turned against him on Wednesday.

Ministers, authors, journalists and ordinary Indians lined up to mock him on Wednesday, saying his wardrobe was ‘fake and annoying’.

Justin Trudeau has come in for criticism for his outfit choices while visiting India, with even the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister weighing in

Former CM Omar Abdullah tweeted, “Is it just me or is this choreographed cuteness all just a bit much now? Also FYI we Indians don’t dress like this every day sir, not even in Bollywood.”

Bestselling author Bhaavna Arora was among the harshest critics, describing his wardrobe choices as ‘fake and annoying’ and said “Is it just me who’s finding Justin Trudeau’s fancy dress display fake and annoying?” Bombay-based writer Shunali Khullar Shroff tweeted, “Who advised Justin Trudeau to dress like a bridegroom at the Bombay event? Only a horse and sehra seemed to be missing.”

Perhaps taking note of the criticism, the Canadian leader donned a suit on Thursday as he visited Jama Masjid, one of India’s largest mosques.

Kabir Taneja, an associate fellow at think-tank ORF and based in South Delhi, also took issue with Trudeau wearing traditional Sikh dress at the airport.

‘Bro Golden Temple is not at the airport,’ he wrote. ‘Have some chill.’

While Indian newspapers had initially praised Trudeau’s attempt to cross cultural boundaries with his outfits – describing the red kurta he wore on the first day of his visit as ‘resplendent’ and ‘festive’ – by Wednesday they lost patience as well.

‘Too flashy even for an Indian’, proclaimed Outlook India while The Print suggested that he looked like he was auditioning to be a model.

The tipping point seemed to have come the day before when Trudeau met the great and good of Bollywood, whose own looks arguably inspired some of his own.

But while the actors dressed down for the occasion, opting largely for black suits and shirts, Trudeau went all-out with a gaudy golden number.

India Today described the choice of clothing as ‘tacky’, suggesting it was insulting to his guests.

The paper wrote: ‘We understand that the Trudeaus do not understand Indian clothing as well as Indian dignitaries do, but for someone who’s been fond of wearing Indian kurtas even back home, it’s not wrong to expect a touch of class.’

Published in Daily Times, February  24^th 2018.