Glamazons,
You know me. I’m pretty liberal and fun and carefree but when I see clothing with religious imagery, I can’t help but cringe. And yes that means I can’t sit through Lady Gaga‘s Judas video (with the disciples in leather biker gear) without being slightly majorly offended. (Sidenote: what do you think of the song? Is Gaga going too far or is a little religious controversy fun? We need to chat about that).
In the video, she even rocks cross nippies on her breasts which the sight of I’m sure has caused many a nun to clutch their rosary beads in horror. But as button-pushing as Gaga’s video is, designs with religious imagery aren’t unique to her.
Just this week, a scandal erupted during Australian Fashion Week when as a part of her Summer 2011 collection, Lisa Blue showed a sexy cutout one-piece swimsuit with a visual representation of Lakshmi, a Hindu goddess splashed across the front.
When the collection was reviewed on Fashionising, commenters were outraged about the use of the goddess’ image on such a seductive piece of clothing. The Lisa Blue brand removed the suit from the collection as a response to the backlash, which according to Fashionising, included death threats and protests. Wow.
This made me wonder: is religious imagery as fashion disrespectful? Though a lot less provocative, Jesus Christ’s image is almost a staple in mainstream fashion within every cultural group. Christ’s image flanks the front of graphic t-shirts with sayings like “Jesus is my homeboy,” Jay-Z and Kanye West famously wore Givenchy’s “Jesus is Lord” shirt (designer Riccardo Tisci, by the way, is a devout Catholic), “Jesus pieces” are popular pendants worn by almost every rapper and necklaces with crosses are seemingly ubiquitous.
From rosary beads to Buddha rings to Orthodox Jewish wide-brimmed hats, it seems we’re obsessed with popularizing religious symbols. But when does it go too far?
Do you wear designs with religious imagery? Do you think it’s disrespectful or no big deal? Discuss.
Kisses,
Glamazon Jessica
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