Comments on: Vogue India’s Fashion Spread Stirs A Controversy

By: Vogue | RISE Worldwide - UK Streetwear

Vogue | RISE Worldwide - UK Streetwear — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:26:01 +0000

[...] modeling a $100 Fendi bibi, in the top photo the man is holding a $200 Burberry umbrella. Shabba. [kitsuine noir] « Vipp A few picks from the week… [...]

By: RAHUL SINGH

RAHUL SINGH — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 09:08:16 +0000

Hey guys !
This is Ridicilous in the Extreme!!!

I am from India and this picture is

just a village and cannot be COMMENSURATED TO the Whole country!

How can these guys from the fashion Industry dipict such Callous iMAGE behaviour!!

Guys in case you all So called International; clients are buying a 200$ Umbrella ill SAY IT IS ONLY WORTH 15 $ IN THE iNDIAN MARKET (IN THE mETROPOLITAN cITies ,I MEAN) and max 30$.!! All you guys are being duped out of your cases!!

But ill STRESS on the point that these Products that are MANUFACTURED BY the INDIAN DESIGNERS (ANNA SINGH, ETC.. are all made by employing CHEAP labour from the villages like these photographs ). and these Designers themselves are busy SPLURGING YOUR Hard EARNED & Duped
CASh in CLUBS and weekly parties in the CITIES and EVERY DESIGNER has those Expensive
40.000$ cars like MERCS and BMW’s AND nOW PORSHE TOO HAS OPENED HIS EXCLUSIVE BRANCH IN MUMBAI city,Kemps Corner south of the city area. (city was called Bombay before renaming it Mumbai. Everyone hates the renaming by the Govt.)
(The rates of houses in this Area inrange of 500-1000 dollars per Sq.Feet residential!!(minimum850Sq.Feet available))(was Bombay before)and live in $$400,000$ (self owned)accomodations in the Proshest areas of the city .

man this photograph jhas really given me the correct explaination for these AVARACIOUS DESIGNERS!!! sHAME ON THEM FOR DOING SUCH ACTS!!

I am not criticizing them but The PICTURE DOES NOT DIPICT THE REAL “INDIAN” PEOPLE WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MANAGEMENT & EXPORT OF THE FINAL PRODUCTS!!!!

By: Veronica

Veronica — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:28:34 +0000

I don’t think it’s that bad.

Banksy’s whole manifesto [as written in his art book] stems from an amazing Holocaust story involving a shipment of lipstick.

By: yeehaw

yeehaw — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:36:31 +0000

i saw the spread in the magazine and the photos themselves are technically great…the fendi and dior, on the contrary, look cheap and tacky next to these real people.

By: TG

TG — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 03:37:29 +0000

for me, something just doesn’t feel right it, even though the photo came out quite nicely.

By: penny lee

penny lee — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 07:32:01 +0000

i agree with tipere. and besides, i think these photos also tell us that these items could look good on anyone and anyone could wear them regardless of race or financial status. they just happen to be real expensive. so all in all, these photos kinda bring people from all walks of life together and we have to admit, though it seems like the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer, we are already aware of this reality and we’ve started to do something on it, right? maybe we aren’t half way through yet, but c’mon, let’s all stop being cynical and pessimistic. we’ll never get through with this if we stay that way.

By: jayant ugra

jayant ugra — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:29:34 +0000

Zoo animals don’t choose to be zoo animals, but we have a choice. We also have the dangerous choice of turning each others into one.

By: tipere

tipere — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:32:23 +0000

there are more issues about indian wealth then annual income. There are some indians that will never have access to wealth and it has nothing to do with western influences but a local dichotomy of castres. Nothing is fair in this world. I hope also that fair paiements were made. The pictures are indeed breathtaking, the subjects beautifull. I don’t even care what they are peddling but I like the contrast and it is a clear indication that these indians look rich culturaly and spiritualy, the luxury items in the pictures do not clash with the overall picture like it would if some homeless slum villager from southern US would be… Sorry folks, this is a global issue, soon, many countries might create the same photo shoot in your town but with a different twist. We are all zoo animals.

By: jayant ugra

jayant ugra — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:59:27 +0000

Two questions??….
Could u guys define a Third world country for me, cause i have come across something called “Trailer parks” and rodent infested ghettos in the united states…safely placed 30 miles away from the big cities…and what does “White trash” mean ?? heard that a lot in ur movies ?!?

What would the West coin a Second world country !?
Perhaps some country which has a lot of Asian immigrants now….i’d love to hear your answers
…………………………………

So we indians are not really good in hiding our poverty as compared to the west.out here it’s all out in the open. But we can live with that. Health care is still affordable and possible in India. We are still working on that and lot of other issues.

We have made the mistake in the past of selling India as a land of uneducated/poor/miserable fucks but things have changed now. Please come and take a look.

Lets talk bout fashion, not everyone here reads Vogue for fashion[thank god !!],we go by our home budget…mostly in the metros and upcoming cities…we copy Bollywood stars…in fact they are on the magazine covers most of the time…and i am waiting for the day when only full time professional models be clicked for Vogue covers, but that’s just a stupid fantasy and a different story altogether. It would be great if fashion editors copy the west on that point all the time.

Some self respecting Indians are not going to be amused by this fashion spread…not because most of us call ourselves “educated” or we don’t have a great taste in fashion or is that the only way you want look at us..as seen in this Fashion spread, its just plain mockery…unless it works out there for most of you to make a living off. Which is the case for many photographers and docu filmmakers. Average work i say.

I feel really sorry for the new age Indian aspirational monkey…fashion editors/ self declared Fashionitas [wannabes with lots of money to blow...in India]
IMHO he/she is not getting enough good editorial quality, unlike the trash that we just saw. We all would love to ape the west, but a little respect is all one can expect. One step at a time i guess.

For many of those not educated about fashion or things in general would never see this Fashion spread or read this blog…I guess we are not missing much.

I did not use elephants/donkeys to go to school, not that i have ever been abroad or been asked that…but its still nice to know what does not happens out here.

India is not a exotic/miserable location as its made out to be, please come and take a look for yourself.
Its like any other country, full of people and different things.

I am just an average Indian who happens to be a Photographer by profession, I hope like every other working human to be judged by my work and not the racial background or the stereotypes people have been fed with.

Hope my english was not that impossible to understand.

warm regards
jayant ugra [Mumbai]

By: faz

faz — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:31:21 +0000

hmm let’s see, me?
artist…check
3rd world working class immigrant parents…check
knowing a thing or two about being broke…double check
not to mention that your post did nothing to prove a point besides sounding elitist.
if you want to start calling people lame asses, we each have email addresses, contact us directly and lets keep bobby’s blog clean.