Swimwear designer Lisa Burke of Lisa Blue has been in full-on damage control since presenting her S/S 2011 collection during Rosemount Australian Fashion Week.
It all started on Thursday when a model walked down the runway wearing a swim suit with the Hindu goddess Lakshmi on it.
The Hindu community saw the design as offensive and insulting so for the past 3 days activists been burning the Australian flag in protest.
Yikes.
But faster than you could light a match, Lisa Blue issued an apology. The post on Facebook read:
This range will never be available for sale in any stockists or retail outlets anywhere in the world. We apologise to the Hindu community and take this matter very seriously.
We would like to offer an apology to anyone we may have offended and advise that the image of Goddess Lakshmi will not appear on any piece of Lisa Blue swimwear for the new season, with a halt put on all production of the new range and pieces shown on the runway from last week removed.
Lisa Blue has been born out of a love of conservation, spirituality and a respect for all people. At no time would we ever have intended that the brand would cause offence. The use of images of Goddess Lakshmi was not in any way a measure of calculated risk taking, simply it was a desire to celebrate different cultures and share that through our brand.
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[Image via Getty Images & AP Images.]
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