Was selling for as much as $275.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: New York fashion designer Mara Hoffman is at the center of a religious controversy after creating a line of provocative swimwear that has the Hindu deity Ganesh emblazoned on it, forcing retailers like Neiman Marcus to take the product off of its shelves after receiving numerous complaints from Hindu patrons. Marcus has also pulled the product from her website.
The swimsuits, which come in both one-piece and two-piece bikini styles, cost anywhere from the mid-$100s to as high as $275. Putting the Hindu deity on such blatantly racy apparel has raised the ire of Hindus around the country, who are calling for the garment to be banned and for Hoffman to issue an apology. The latter has not yet happened in any official capacity, but retail chains across the US are quietly pulling the swimwear before things get even more heated.
Hoffman has been a designer since 2000, with a fashion line relying heavily on prints of pop culture icons and artifacts.
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As Hindu traditions like yoga continue to increase in interest in the US and Europe, Hindu symbols like the Om and depictions of Hindu gods and goddesses are becoming more and more popular. But with that rise in exposure comes the risk of putting a revered religious symbol in an unflattering light. Hoffman is just the latest in a surprisingly long — and, most likely, still growing — list of non-Hindus who think they can use a Hindu symbol wherever they want.
This is not the first time a Hindu deity, or even Ganesh in particular, has been controversially featured on a piece of clothing. Urban Outfitters put the elephant-headed God on a pair of socks last year, an especially egregious offense when considering that the feet are considered one of the dirtiest parts of the body by Hindus. The God Shiva was featured on a beer bottle label, produced by a small microbrewery located in North Carolina. There were even toilet seats featuring Hindu Gods some years back – how a company allowed a designer to manufacture that is anyone’s guess.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com