As if designer Roberto Cavalli hadn’t committed enough fashion atrocities, now he’s pissed off an entire religious community.
Tomorrow a gathering of Sufi students will protest the Just Cavalli line at Union Square, alleging the famous fashion designer used a sacred religious symbol in his clothing and perfume product lines.
The action is part of a global series of protests in London, New York, Houston, Los Angeles, Dusseldorf and other cities. In numerous YouTube videos, tweets, and blog posts, the Sufi students expressed outrage at seeing their symbol, which they also say is trademarked by their religious school for 27 years, used as a product for sale. The school’s religious traditions have been retold from teacher to teacher for over 1,400 years, students of the school told us.
Put simply, they’re pissed.
“The symbol spells out ‘Allah,’ which means god for us, and also spells out words from the holy Quran,” protest organizer and student Nasim Bahadorani told us. “Mr. Cavalli used the symbol on the top of a perfume bottle. He also took the symbol that means god to us and rebranded it as a snake bite in some contexts. For us that represents carnality.”
“It is,” she said, “outrageously insulting.”
Read the complete article by Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez on sfbg.com