Fashion designers back Priyanka Chopra on magazine cover controversy
Priyanka Chopra is undoubtedly having a grand year. Kickstarting season two of her much-loved show, Quantico, the Hollywood bound actor seems to be seeing an upswing in her career. Over the weekend, however, Priyanka’s cover photo shoot for a luxury travel magazine has ruffled more than a few feathers with social media.
The actress is sporting a white t-shirt on the image, with four words arranged one below the other, in the following order: refugee, immigrant, outsider, traveller. The first three words that have been struck through have caused the furore, making users believe it was a politically inappropriate message that Priyanka sported on her t-shirt.
A tweet posted by one Savita Pawnday read, “With 65 million ppl displaced, highest no. since WWII, to pretend as if it’s a choice [sic].” Another caustic remark by a user named Hanna read, “r u kidding me PC?! What with this shirt! Insensitive to all ppl suffer around from refugees..etc.” Outside of Twitter too, the actress is being called out for her elitism. Photographer Nrupen Madvani weighs in, “I think the cover photo is meant to create a controversy. Why does someone who is an A-lister and making India proud need to garner such publicity? It is demeaning to have flaunt this kind of elitism at a time when there is an ongoing refugee crisis. This seems like a project meant to get her some attention, which is a shame because she was on the right track all this while.”
However, designer Archana Kochhar believes that people are reading a little too much into the design — “I think we’re all travellers in life. No life is permanent to one place or one house. So, conceptually, she’s not wrong. Furthermore, Priyanaka wouldn’t intentionally be insensitive to the plight of any group. I don’t think it was intended to be a move, or she wasn’t trying to make a point.”
Fashion designer Amy Billimoria too agrees with Archana. “I don’t think we need to connect fashion to every political scenario. Maybe she is just wearing that T-shirt without wanting to make a statement — statements that we are only assuming. There are always two sides to a story. Priyanka Chopra, I believe is politically educated. I think it is best to leave fashion and politics alone.”
Pria Kataria Puri chimes in — “Since it’s a travel magazine, I want to believe that the word ‘traveller’ was innocently put there from a voyage point of view. I don’t think it was meant to offend but it may have come across that way. I don’t think Priyanka or the magazine made her wear the t-shirt to offend anybody.”
Priyanka, however, is yet to speak up on the issue.
