Campaign India Team
Jun 11, 2020

MatchesFashion apologises and removes swimming shorts depicting Hindu Gods

Within 24-hours of the protest the retailer which includes brands such as Gucci, Prada and Balenciaga removed the shorts which costed US$ 273

The shorts were part of MatchesFashion's Amiri brand
The shorts were part of MatchesFashion's Amiri brand
UK-based fashion retailer MatchesFashion has apologised and removed a pair of swimming shorts which featured Hindu Gods. The swimming shorts were called 'highly inappropriate' by Rajan Ved, president, Universal Society of Hinduism.
 
Ved thanked MatchesFashion for understanding the concerns of the Hindu community and suggested that MatchesFashion and other fashion companies should send their senior executives for training in religious and cultural sensitivity so that they had an understanding of the feelings of customers and communities when introducing new products or launching advertising campaigns. 
 
A statement from Zed added that many Hindu deities displayed on these shorts were highly revered in Hinduism and were meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to adorn one’s thighs, hips, groin, buttocks, genitals and pelvis. 
 
Paul Watson, menswear head - communications, MatchesFashion, said, "We have removed the item from the site and furthermore we have circulated your email directly to our buying team to make them aware of such sensitivities moving forward. We trust this meets with your approval and apologise for any offence caused. This was not intentional.”
 
The swim shorts were priced at US$273 and were part of MatchesFashion's Amiri. 
 
 
Source:
Campaign India

Follow us

Top news, insights and analysis every weekday

Sign up for Campaign Bulletins

Just Published

13 hours ago

Arpit Garg takes over as president of Weber ...

As president for India, he will strengthen its leadership across communications and advisory services.

13 hours ago

Collective Creative Labs delivers adaptive travel ...

Collective Creative Labs has executed a travel-led campaign for Oppo that reflects changing approaches to production in lifestyle advertising.

1 day ago

Kingfisher Premium launches brand film for Tata WPL

The film highlights women’s cricket through energy, music and shared celebration.

2 days ago

‘Posting Zero’ is just the tip of the iceberg

As AI adoption accelerates, there is a new balance emerging between acceleration and deceleration, where people crave both the hyper-real and the handmade.