For the longest time, my guilty pleasure has been aesthetic videos. Seeing content creators mindlessly restock their fridge or show me their totally unrealistic 20-step skincare routine brings me joy. It only makes sense that I keep up with the trends of the season, simply because I consume content that deals with it. However, the last time I opened up my Instagram, I noticed one disturbingly familiar custom being marketed as a new “micro-trend,” or a short-lived trend with tons of popularity and attention.
I have seen many wardrobe videos since first realizing this, and the time it’s taken for this trend to be adopted is astounding. If you didn’t know what I’m talking about, the Scandinavian Scarf has recently went viral on various platforms. It is essentially a light little chiffon scarf typically meant to be worn draped across the wearer’s neck or behind the back. This scarf has been booming lately, thanks to the fashion brand Bipty.
Recently, one well-meaning Bipty employee posted a video of a woman wearing one of these Scandinavian scarves, and proceeded to receive immense backlash from the South Asian community for calling the style “very chic and European.” The reason? These so-called “Scandinavian” scarves have a striking resemblance to what South Asians call a dupatta, or chunni, a piece of fabric meant to be worn with traditional South Asian clothing that dates back to the Indus River Valley civilization from thousands of years ago.
Numerous South Asian creators, including Indian and Pakistani women, have created videos calling out Bipty’s original TikTok, which has since been removed from the company’s page. “It’s serving South Asian,” creator kayyymeg said in a now viral TikTok addressing the controversy.
Now, my issue with this trend is not with women wearing it. Far from it, actually. As a South Asian woman, I believe that my culture holds beauty, and I love that so many women are utilizing such an important component of the clothing. However, I dislike that so many companies, in order to sell products, are still labeling chunnis as a Scandinavian scarf to make it seem palatable to the average Western consumer. Berets and kimonos are called by their original names, why not dupattas?
The reason I’m upset with this whole trend is that South Asians have been historically discriminated against in America, from being denied citizenship to being the target of 60% of anti-Asian content in 2024. In Florida, South Asians have a prominent presence, but where I grew up in Connecticut, I had to field numerous racial micro-aggressive questions and jokes such as “Did you start 9/11?” and one of my personal favorites, “You’re 14, why aren’t you married yet?” It just hurts to see a culture that has been mocked by America for years finally have something considered beautiful, and even then, its name has to be changed for Western consumers to show interest in it.
Overall, I know fashion comes and goes. In today’s digital age, trends disappear in the blink of an eye, and sometimes people forget they existed in the first place. I know the Scandinavian scarf trend won’t last forever in the eyes of the American media, and something new will come up.
I just wish the dupatta had its moment in the eyes of America and that South Asian culture would be celebrated for its beauty, as it should be. Thankfully, even with the rise and fall of worldwide trends, the dupatta will stay in style in traditional South Asian clothing, and we can celebrate it accordingly.
A wall painting of Maharani Jind Kaur, the last queen of the Sikh Empire. The Sikh Empire ended in the 19th century, and the Maharani is shown wearing a dupatta. This shows that a scarf covering your neck and head for fashion is hardly a new trend, but rather one that dates back to the Indus River Valley civilization in ancient times.
