ABSTRACT

Indo Chic describes a western fashion trend that extracts elements of South Asian fashion and accessories, including the bindi, tikka and henna, and styles them alongside Western fashion items. Indo Chic became popular again in 2013, and those who wore the style faced accusations of ‘cultural appropriation’ by communities of South Asian diasporic (desi) people. This article interrogates the contemporary iteration of Indo Chic, examining how the trend is represented, consumed, and subsequently critiqued in online spaces by desis. Through a critical discourse analysis of two online spheres of culture, Tumblr ‘shame blogs’ (youarenotdesi.tumblr.com and basicswearingbindis.tumblr.com) and the multiplatform hashtag #reclaimthebindi, this article argues that Indo Chic is an incendiary phenomenon that motivated global networks of desi people to engage in online activism and in doing so, build community and seek social change.

摘要

Indo Chic 描述了一种西方时尚趋势，它提取了南亚时尚和配饰的元素，包括bindi、tikka和henna，并将它们与西方时尚单品搭配在一起。Indo Chic 在 2013 年再次流行起来，那些穿着这种风格的人面临着南亚侨民 (desi) 社区“文化挪用”的指责。本文探讨了 Indo Chic 的当代迭代，研究了这一趋势是如何在网上空间中被表达、消费和批判的。通过对两个在线文化领域的批判性话语分析，Tumblr 的“耻辱博客”（youarenotdesi.tumblr.com 和 basicswearingbindis.tumblr.com）和多平台标签#reclaimthebindi，