Pellet guns @ fashion show: GQ doesn’t get India’s sensibilities like Vogue didn’t

At the recently concluded Van Heusen GQ Fashion Night in Mumbai, designer duo Shantanu and Nikhil showcased a collection that recreated a ridiculous "bullet pellet effect" as part of their "Kashmiriyat" collection. Former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah responded to a tweet posted on the handle of Van Heusen GQ Fashion Nights “#Backstagepass @sonicsarwate creates a bullet pellet effect for Shantanu and Nikhil’s Kashmiriyat collection.” 

The National Conference leader immediately shot back on Twitter by saying: “Am I reading this correctly? A pellet injury ‘effect’ is being created for a fashion show. That seems macabre if not downright thoughtless.”  He was right to ask, “Are any part of the proceeds of the show or the 'Kashmiriyat' collection going to help rehabilitate those hurt by pellets?”

While GQ India was quick to delete the offensive post, Abdullah instantly placed a screen grab commenting, “And quietly deleting the tweet does not make it any better @gqindia.”

Am I reading this correctly, a pellet injury "effect" is being created for a fashion show? That seems macabre if not downright thoughtless. https://t.co/AsqstzeEsF

— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) December 4, 2016

These pellets have blinded scores, to have the injuries recreated for a fashion show is inexplicable even if collection called Kashmiriyat.

— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) December 4, 2016

And quietly deleting the tweet doesn't make it any better @gqindia. Here's a screen grab in case people wonder what my tweets are about. pic.twitter.com/Ibos7DypIj

— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) December 4, 2016

@abdullah_omar also kashmiriyat isn't about pellet gun injuries& depiction of it. Insensitive to say the least. @gqindia

— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) December 4, 2016

'Bullet pellet effect' for the 'Kashmiriyat Collection' - in poor, poor taste @shantanunikhil pic.twitter.com/S7XZMoBlhO

— Yusra Askari (@YusraSAskari) December 4, 2016

This was not the first time for Conde Nast India to run into troubled waters. In 2008, Vogue India did an obnoxious 16-page photo shoot which displayed expensive accoutrements from the world’s top luxury brands modelled on impoverished villagers - who would be lucky if they had food to eat daily. One of the images shot in Rajasthan showed an old couple outside a mud hut - with the toothless barefoot man holding a Burberry umbrella and his wife sporting an Etro handbag.

Another image showed an old woman (with missing front teeth) holding onto a child that was wearing a Fendi bib. It didn’t matter that the child was wearing tattered old clothes underneath the $100 bib. There was another image of a family huddled on a motorbike with the lady carrying a Hermès Birkin bag (usually more than $10,000, if you get on the waitlist) prominently displayed on her wrist.

Was this insensitive portrayal art or exploitation? Especially in a country where there is so much disparity in wealth. This time around too Conde Nast has stretched its creative license without adding any substance to its style.

Globally too, Conde Nast has had many hiccups with several controversial shoots across global editions of Vogue. In 2011, French Vogue's risque kiddie fashion spread caused outrage– when it showcased 10-year-old girls covered in full makeup and not so covered in the kind of clothes they wore. One photo showed 10-year-old Thylane Lena-Rose Blondeau wearing a skirt that is pulled all the way up her leg, exposing her thigh! There was another of a little girl in a low-cut gold metallic dress and sky high heels.

Who wants to see children in high-heeled leopard print bedroom slippers? While French Vogue defended itself by saying that this was a mockery or a critique of the fashion industry's unhealthy interest in young girls, not an endorsement or a glamourisation of it – the message was lost in translation. This shoot was neither edgy nor elegant. It was downright inappropriate, and creepy – no matter the intention. 

Who can forget Vogue Italia’s Haute Mess editorial released in 2012. The story, shot by Steven Meisel, featured top models like Joan Smalls, Coco Rocha and Jessica Stam wearing over-the-top, flashy ensembles with crazy colourful weaves, heavily painted on makeup, extra long fingernails (and toenails), and other "ghetto fabulous" additions.

While the idea was to showcase distinctly American stereotypes, the images clearly projected some racial undertones. Because, really, who – girls across diverse ethnicities - dresses like this? We understand that fashion is about being expressive but when in poor taste, the only message that gets conveyed is the insensitivity of the editorial team as they highlight their insular populist view of the world.

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