London-based Nigerian designer Mowalola Ogunlesi issued an apology after drawing social media ire for unveiling a miniskirt with a print of the Saudi Arabian flag on the London Style Week on Friday.
In line with CNN, the clothes in query was a part of the 28-year-old’s Spring 2024 assortment, and it additionally featured miniskirts with prints of different nationwide flags together with China, the UK, and Japan. The Saudi Arabian flag bears the Islamic oath often called “Shahada.” The oath, which is written in Arabic, reads: “There isn’t a god however God; Mohammed is the messenger of God.”
Within the wake of the controversy, outstanding Arab and Muslim style accounts reportedly referred to as on style distributor FarFetch to grab promoting Ogunlesi’s collections. Additionally they threatened to cease patronizing FarFetch’s providers. The style distributor’s clientele within the Center East is alleged to be big.
Ogunlesi’s apology got here after she initially performed down the backlash in a publish on X – the social media platform beforehand often called Twitter. “A mini skirt being an act of warfare in 2023 is so dystopian,” she reportedly posted in a screenshot shared by Couture is Past account on X, per CNN. “Cry me a river,” she wrote in one other publish.
The 28-year-old, nonetheless, seemingly walked again on her preliminary feedback and issued an apology. “One among my key inspirations for SS24 was to make use of the nationwide flags of various nations. After the present, I discovered that one among these flags – Saudi Arabia – options sacred phrases, and its use has prompted nice offense,” she wrote.
“Now that I’ve been educated on this subject, I sincerely apologise for this. I’ll guarantee this design is faraway from the gathering. I deeply remorse any damage or offense my oversight could have prompted. Thanks for holding me accountable, and I admire your understanding as I be taught from this expertise.”
It’s uncommon for the Saudi flag to be printed on clothes due to the reverence of the holy inscription, CNN reported. In 2022, Saudi media reported that the oil-rich nation’s Saudi Ministry of Commerce had prohibited companies from utilizing the flag in business promotions comparable to “publications, items and merchandise, brochures, particular presents and others.”
