A swimwear that features the Goddess Lakshmi brought disappointment to Hindu people when it was reported to be exposed at a fashion show launched in Sydney on May 2 – 6.
Lisa Blue Swimwear and organizers of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW) were asked by Hindu statesman Rajan Zed to publicly apologize to the worshippers since it was not appropriate for goddess Lakshmi to be displayed on a fashion show especially that it was depicted in a swimwear worn by a fashion model for commercial purposes.
For Hindus, goddess Lakshmi is only meant to be worshipped in temples or in home shrines.
Zed, the Universal Society of Hinduism President, made a statement in an article published by the North India Times stated that, “it was disturbing to see goddess Lakshmi, who was highly revered in Hinduism, on a swimwear displayed by a model at a fashion show. Lakshmi was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not for pushing swimwear in fashion shows for mercantile greed of an apparel company.”
However the apparel company Lisa Blue vibrantly displayed the image of Goddess Lakshmi through the front and along the rear of the swimsuit. Such use of Hindu deities was described to be inappropriate and it could be an insult to worshippers of Hinduism.
Having around one billion believers, Hinduism is ranked three throughout the world based on its number of devotees. It has been the oldest religion as well.
The Hindu statesman Rajan Zed even stressed that any symbol in connection to one’s faith, whether it would be larger or smaller, must be handled properly.
For Hindus, Lakshmi is respected as the goddess of good fortune and beauty. In the study of Hinduism, Lakshmi is honoured as the “world-mother”.
The designer and owner of Lisa Blue Swimwear is Lisa Burke. The company claims to represent “the girl of the future who can be sexy, beautiful, powerful and environmentally aware at the same time”.
Aside from the company’s online presence and its main store in Australia, Lisa Blue also supplies countries like USA, Indonesia, Ireland and New Zealand.
The company, Lisa Blue, apologized through the social site, Facebook, saying that “the image of Goddess Lakshmi will not appear on any piece of Lisa Blue swimwear for the new season.”