The Great Red Carpet Robbery: Hollywood’s Desi Obsession Without the Credit

The 98th Academy Awards season has just wrapped up, but the conversation has shifted from the Best Picture snubs to a different kind of theft, one occurring in plain sight on the red carpet. Within a single week, three of the world’s most influential style icons, Kendall Jenner, Gracie Abrams, and Bella Hadid, stepped out in silhouettes that looked undeniably South Asian. Yet, as the labels “Dior,” “Chanel,” and “Prada” flashed across social media, the words “Kurta,” “Lehenga,” and “Dupatta” were nowhere to be found in the official press releases.

The “New” Silhouette: A Case of Collective Amnesia

The trend began at the high-profile pre-Oscars dinner hosted by W Magazine and Dior. Kendall Jenner arrived in a vintage Fall 1998 Dior ensemble by John Galliano: a sleeveless, longline black camisole paired with matching trousers and a sheer, semi-heavy scarf draped around her neck with the ends trailing behind her. To any South Asian eye, it was a sleeveless Kurta and Trouser set with a Dupatta. However, fashion outlets hailed it as an elegant styling trick, with headlines suggesting readers ‘style their scarf like this’ for a ‘minimalist European’ look.

The “inspiration” hit a fever pitch at the Oscars main event. Gracie Abrams turned heads in a two-piece Chanel set from the Pre-Fall 2026 collection. Featuring a structured black bodice and a floor-sweeping, voluminous skirt, the look was completed with a sheer tulle drape across her neck. Netizens immediately called it out for what it was: a Lehenga Choli.

Finally, at the Vanity Fair after-party, Bella Hadid stunned in a custom ivory silk Prada set. The look featured a halter-style top and a sleek maxi skirt, but it was the thin, trailing silk scarf, which caused a little wardrobe mishap when it slipped, that looked exactly like a stylized dupatta. On platforms like Reddit, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) the consensus was instant: ‘The dupatta is really taking over Hollywood.’

The Roots of Artistic Theft: “Laundering” the Aesthetic

This isn’t just about “inspiration”; it is about the systemic erasure of credit. For decades, Western “Big Fashion” has treated the Global South as a mood board rather than a creative peer. There is a specific word for this phenomenon: Laundering. When a Western fashion house lifts a South Asian aesthetic, whether it’s the drape of a sari rebranded as a “wrap gown” or a dupatta rebranded as a “Scandinavian scarf”, the cultural context is intentionally dropped. By stripping the garment of its name and history, it arrives on the Western runway as “effortless” and “modern.” The underlying message is subtle but damaging: a silhouette only becomes “chic” or “high-fashion” once it is removed from brown skin and placed on a white body with a European label.

This theft ignores the centuries of craftsmanship, from the mukaish work of Lucknow to the zardozi of Lahore, that informed these very shapes. For generations, South Asian women were mocked or exoticized for wearing these exact items; now, they are being sold back to the world as “the latest Western trend” for thousands of dollars.

The Internet Receipts: Netizens Speak Up

The digital reaction in 2026 has been swift and unapologetic. While some fashion critics praised the cool-girl aesthetic, the South Asian diaspora was ready with the receipts. Viral comments across TikTok and Instagram pointed out the hypocrisy: ‘The Western fashion industry is now heating Indian nachos, 90s Bollywood short kurti + dupatta.’ The frustration lies in the selective appreciation. Fashion houses are happy to adopt the grace of a dupatta or the flare of a lehenga skirt because they are aesthetically pleasing, but they remain hesitant to acknowledge the South Asian designers, karigars (artisans), and heritage that paved the way. It is the definition of “loving the culture, but not the people.”

The Turning Point: Crediting the Source

Thankfully, the 2026 Oscars also provided a blueprint for how to do it correctly. Twenty meters away from the “uncredited” scarves, Rachel McAdams walked onstage wearing Sabyasachi High Jewellery. In this instance, the designer was named, the craft had a face, and the country of origin was honored. Similarly, Li Jun Li stunned in a Gaurav Gupta couture piece, proving that South Asian designers don’t need Western translation to be considered world-class.

The message from the 98th Academy Awards is clear: Inspiration is welcome, but erasure is a choice. If Hollywood and the “Big Four” fashion houses want to borrow the silhouette, they can no longer afford to ignore the soul behind it.

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