Popular brand Gucci recently sparked a debate after models, in a fashion show, walked the ramp sporting turban as fashion accessories. Models wore turbans as headgear at the Milan Fashion Week during the Fall 2018 collection walk. The move of ‘models wearing turban’ has not gone down well with many.

Gucci has irked the Sikh community and while many expressed their disappointment on micro-blogging site Twitter, there were some people who didn’t see anything wrong in it. Sikh Philanthropist Harjinder Singh Kukreja took to Twitter and slammed the brand. He wrote, “Dear @gucci, the Sikh Turban is not a hot new accessory for white models but an article of faith for practising Sikhs. Your models have used Turbans as ‘hats’ whereas practising Sikhs tie them neatly fold-by-fold. Using fake Sikhs/Turbans is worse than selling fake Gucci products.”

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In a reply to Kukreja, a Twitter user wrote, “Dear Sir, in America we have freedom to wear what we choose.  While we may practice religion of our choice we are not an overly religious country.  Many wear crosses for fashion, not religion.  Turbans to dry wet hair, scarves for wind, and so on.  #AmericaTheFree♥.”

Here are some of the other reactions:

Dear @gucci, the Sikh Turban is not a hot new accessory for white models but an article of faith for practising Sikhs. Your models have used Turbans as ‘hats’ whereas practising Sikhs tie them neatly fold-by-fold. Using fake Sikhs/Turbans is worse than selling fake Gucci products pic.twitter.com/gCzKPd9LGd

— Harjinder Singh Kukreja (@SinghLions) February 22, 2018

Thanks @gucci for entirely appropriating my religion. Ffs, I’m pretty sure you could have found a Sikh model to wear a turban rather than turning it in some causal accessory #notokay pic.twitter.com/23HvT8vkwQ

— Maninder Sachdeva (@thisismani_) February 22, 2018

Dear Sir, in America we have freedom to wear what we choose. While we may practice religion of our choice we are not an overly religious country. Many wear crosses for fashion, not religion. Turbans to dry wet hair, scarves for wind, and so on. #AmericaTheFree♥️🇺🇸

— Mary (@onemarymarks) February 22, 2018

Yo.. @gucci … I mess with you guys… but this isn’t a good look for you… could you not find a brown model? pic.twitter.com/INqxwrfB0t

— Avan Jogia (@AvanJogia) February 22, 2018

I can’t understand your logic… You have turban days in New York and proudly create awareness of Sikh turban by tying turbans. What is wrong with models wearing it. I think they are sporting it in good spirit. @gucci please ignore this guy

— MS (@thewrysingh) February 22, 2018

I don’t understand. I know that turban isn’t an accesory, it’s a religious symbol, but what about brown skin? I mean does it matter when you are wearing a turban and you’re not brown?

— Dead Dreamer (@DrozdDominika) February 22, 2018

+, this model shouldn’t necessarily have darker skin tone, cause religion is non-racial. Personally, I see no racism there, cause I believe that every person can believe in whatever they want to. 🙆🏼‍♀️

— Quintessa (@quick_silver16) February 22, 2018

I’m a Sikh and I’m like … cool pic.twitter.com/rMPhzCvY3f

— Rahuldeep Gill (@RahuldeepGill) February 22, 2018

Is this not cultural appropriation at its worst? I would feel extremely disrespectful wearing that without any understanding of what it represents.

— Renée (@renee_rykes) February 22, 2018