A fashion shoot by Ali Xeeshan has recently come under fire for romanticizing abuse and harassment. The shoot stars Pakistani top model Amna Babar along with Hasnain Lahiri, the guy who won best male model at the Lux Style Awards this year, and is shot by Abdullah Haris films.
This photo was posted on a Pakistani design studio’s official Instagram page:
See anything wrong?
Sifting through the comments on the post, many people have found the concept extremely problematic:
Others took to Twitter to raise their concerns about the Pakistani Fashion Industry:
Pakistan fashion industry Romanticising abuse! pic.twitter.com/Tcl95JuEzG
— Tooba Syed (@Tooba_Sd) August 19, 2016
Now the fashion industry is promoting RAPE and HARASSMENT publicly! #Pakistan
STOP DOING THIS! pic.twitter.com/y7xZC1Lyz0
— Arsalan M. Khan (@amk) August 19, 2016
This wasn’t the first time the fashion industry has been criticized for using disturbing concepts.
Three years ago, “Be my slave”, a shoot by Amna Aqeel was heavily bashed for being unapologetically racist. A racially charged backlash resulted in international publications also picking up on the matter.
How such marketing strategies get taken up are unclear – are the designers, photographers, concept creators knowingly ignorant? Regardless, this episode is inexcusable. Fashion is one of the most powerful forms of art; not only does it incorporate design, movement and architecture all in one but has the power to change or reinforce perceptions. Celebrities and people in the lime light have a tremendous social responsibility to speak up about societal issues or in the very least, not promote despicable evils.
What are your thoughts on the fashion industry in Pakistan?