Over the last several days, many shoppers around North America were surprised to find Waris Ahluwalia staring them in the face at the mall, in flyers, and in magazine ads this week. The Sikh American actor/designer/model is apparently being featured in clothing retailer Gap‘s current national marketing campaign.
It’s a safe assumption that Gap has not entered the retail market for turbans, but it might be interesting to walk into your nearest Gap store, point to the poster, and advise the salesperson that you’ll wear what he’s wearing.
Some of the familiar faces in the campaign are Waris Ahluwalia, actress Malin Akerman, Q-Tip, and Harry Belafonte.
Waris Ahluwalia is an Indian-American designer and actor. Born in Amritsar (Punjab) he later moved to New York at the age of five. His company, House of Waris, is based out of New York and has collaborated with a number of other designers and artists throughout the years. House of Waris came into being after the owners of Maxfield’s in Los Angeles noticed Ahluwalia’s elaborate diamond rings and placed an order, which sold out.
I believe any minority should appear on advertisements, not just blacks.
This is something I feel proud about, a turbaned kesh dhari Sikh on the billboards for promoting a reputed brand like GAP. There should be no objections from the clergy or the hard liners as it is very important to promote the Sikhs’ dress code (turbans and beards) and Sikhism.