This is Indian Vogue??

Controversy surfaced on a recent fashion spread in India's Vogue Magazine. In the spread you see some of the latest fashion must haves such as a Hermes Birkin bag (valued at $10, 000 plus), a Burberry umbrella, a Fendi bib, and more obscenely expensive items. Now there is nothing out of the ordinary about the accessories shown in the spread, but what readers found odd were the people modeling the accessories. They weren't models, or celebrities, but impoverished residents of India's most grungiest slums. I don't know why the magazine thought it would be acceptable to publish such a controversial ad. I feel like this is disrespectful to the poor people in India, because the accessories they were sporting in the magazine is worth more than what most of the people could make in a year.

And to add more insult, the "models" were not even addressed by their names in the magazine, but referred to by "lady", "man", or "little boy",  illustrating that the people were the props  and the accessories was the main story. When the editor of Vogue India, Priya Tanna, was bombarded by complaints her response was, "Lighten up, vogue is about realizing the power of fashion, fashion is no longer a rich man's privilege, anyone can carry it off and make it look beautiful. You have to remember with fashion you can't take it that seriously. We weren't trying to make a political statement or save the world!" I can see how people feel as though this glamorizes human suffering.