Entertainment
First Kendall, Now Kim; Vogue India Faces Backlash For Featuring Kardashian Sisters
Kim Kardashian at the Los Angeles premiere of 'The Promise' held at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, USA on April 12, 2017.
Photo: Bigstock
Social media users criticize Vogue India magazine for featuring Kim Kardashian dressed in Indian clothes on its cover.
This would be the seventh time reality star Kim Kardashian is on the cover of Vogue magazine, and the first time she is the Vogue India cover girl, a news that has not gone down well with many netizens.
Vogue shared pictures from the star’s photoshoot on Instagram where the fashion influencer is seen styled by Anaita Shroff Adajania in a beige lehenga with gota work, a red sari dress, a plain gold shimmer number and black satin gown.
The 37-year-old celebrity shot for these photos in Los Angeles. Vogue quoted her as saying: “The saris, the jewelry, the clothes—everything was so beautiful! I told my show that we have to figure out how to get to India.”
While many praised the photographs and the general look and feel of the dresses she wore, the magazine faced backlash for not featuring a South Asian model instead, just as it did when it featured Kim’s half-sister Kendall on their cover last May.
Netizens tweeted:
How many cultures can kim k appropriate #vogueindia
— phoebe (@phoebe_G) February 27, 2018
@VOGUEIndia so basically you wanna create a new generation of bleached head, naked Indian girls? What happened to authenticity? Bad move #VogueIndia you killing the beautiful culture and history of #India
— tweetybird (@tweetiibee) February 27, 2018
I have nothing against Kim Kardashian but @VOGUEIndia is really doing itself a disservice by continually neglecting to portrait brown women in their “magazine”— you’re perpetuating a detrimental cycle of underrepresentation. Stop white washing your own damn culture.
— Aditi Prasad (@P_diti) February 27, 2018
so many pretty Indian models out there and Vogue India somehow chooses kendall jenner and kim kardashian for their covers. How hard is it to have Indian women represent Indian culture.
— n (@nxvyaa) February 27, 2018
I can’t believe @VOGUEIndia featured Kim Kardashian on their cover as if we don’t see her featured on a different magazine every day. India’s vogue should embrace and feature their own south Asian women instead of choosing someone from pop culture
— fari (@fariiihaa) February 27, 2018
Some of them did post comments in the defense of Vogue and the Kardashian sisters:
Why do y’all hate @KimKardashian & her siblings so much? Were you this pressed when Cindy Crawford was featured in 2016?@VOGUEIndia features many beautiful women, mainly from India, as well as other countries every month.🙄 It’s a beautiful cover shoot! #KimKardashian #VogueIndia pic.twitter.com/J57JmOy273
— Finéssa Hudgens (@_Cakezz) February 27, 2018
Kim in Indian clothes makes me happy 😍😍😍 #VogueIndia pic.twitter.com/ZwREkmiJrr
— Nida Hyder (@NiderHyder) February 27, 2018
A) Vogue isn’t an NGO, it’s a magazine. It is there to sell and generate sales for the featured brands & companies.
B)Vogue India should be obliged to feature an Indian person as much as Vogue U.K. should be obliged to feature a British person. That is, it shouldn’t. #vogueindia— Carol C. (@TeddyGirlCarol) February 27, 2018
And this whole appropriating culture thing is getting out of hand. Why can’t a non-Indian wear a lehenga? I’d hope my white friends would like to wear Indian clothes at my wedding one day. #VogueIndia
— Nahida Akhtar (@NahidaTAkhtar) February 27, 2018
To all those who say Vogue India doesn’t select Indian women as cover girls, please google Vogue India before making a mountain out of a molehill.#VogueIndia #KimKardashian @VOGUEIndia pic.twitter.com/xuJJEbUjUu
— JustSaying (@JustMyOpinion65) February 27, 2018
When the magazine faced a similar predicament over its decision to feature Kendall Jenner on the cover last year, they released a statement, saying: “In the last 10 years, Vogue India has had only 12 international covers, including Kendall Jenner in 2017. Therefore, statistically, 90% of our covers are Indian! And we are proud of that. India has given the world so many beautiful faces to admire. After all, we are Vogue, an international brand, and we want to give the love back by featuring some of the best international celebrities on our covers. Occasionally!”
Kim Kardashian started as a personal assistant to former reality star, Paris Hilton. She told Vogue India in an exclusive interview about the makings of a social media sensation: “I thought I was just going to run my clothing store. I didn’t think [the reality show] would go beyond season 1 or 2. And then as things were happening, my mom and I were so excited. We didn’t even know what we were starting, but we knew we were in it together. We definitely made so many mistakes.”
She also gives advice to young women entrepreneurs in the magazine: “Don’t give your name away. Stand your ground on being an owner in your company.”
