Should spiritual or religious icons be placed on articles of clothing?  That’s the question that came to mind when we saw theses pics of Russell Simmons’ new clothing line ‘Atman’ or “spirit of man” translated from Sanskrit.  The Corner boys – Gatzby, Akshay and Kunal M got the exclusive interview with Russell about the clothing line on show #6, and that got us wondering…

Is placing religious icons on articles of clothing like the ‘Om’ symbol on the butt pockets of jeans disrespectful, or is it just for design and fashion purposes?  Think about it – clothes are tossed around on the floor, can be worn while going to or doing some not so wholesome things, so is it right to subject images that are considered sacred to Hindu’s to that? 

Russell himself took a lighter route saying, "I was reading scriptures in a unique version of the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu book of worship. This version was adorned with beautiful illustrations depicting the deities of Hinduism. When I looked at the vibrancy of the paintings, the colors, the beauty in the costumes they wore, I was inspired to create a jean collection." 

So we pose the question to you – should we as Desi’s be offended by this?  Or should this just be taken as another fashion line using Desi elements… Drop us a comment and tell us your thoughts.