Paris Fashion Week always delivers high fashion drama, but Katseye member Lara Raj turned heads at the Loewe show on October 2 in a way no one saw coming. Wearing a bright yellow halter dress, the singer sat in the front row, looking radiant — and wearing a full line of sindoor alongside a statement maang tika and bindi. Also read | Katseye’s Lara Rajagopalan: Meet HYBE’s first Indian-origin K-pop idol
Lara Raj, who is of Tamil origin, has long made the bindi a signature part of her style – but wearing traditional red sindoor to a Paris runway show has sparked debate on Instagram and Reddit over whether it’s cultural symbolism or just a fashion accessory.
‘Komolika will always be the reference’
Popular pop culture and fashion commentary Instagram account Diet Sabya was among the first to highlight the look, posting a video comparison that drew out the unmistakable aesthetic parallels.
In typical witty fashion, Diet Sabya wrote: “Lara Raj’s ever-present bindi has now applied for a visa and migrated up as a full sindoor and maang tika. Brown hair with a middle part, the jhumkas, the makeup, all reminded me of someone far more iconic. The Urvashi Dholakia as Komolika Basu will always be the reference. With her twirling fingers, frosty lips, haveli ki chaabi and nasty schemes, she gave us the most iconic vamp television will ever see. None of y’all come close.”
The video edit showed clips of Lara sitting in the front row at Paris Fashion Week, alongside throwback clips of Indian television’s legendary villainess Komolika, known for her dramatic eye makeup, and traditional adornments.
The internet reacts: high fashion or cultural misstep?
It didn’t take long for comment sections on both Instagram and Reddit to erupt into fiery discussions about whether using traditional elements like sindoor in western fashion shows is groundbreaking or unnecessary.
Over on Instagram, opinions were deeply divided. One comment read, “First in my bloodline to see performative sindhoor.” Another Instagram user pointed directly at the styling team, saying, “The diaspora identity crisis meets high fashion someone on the creative team wanted an ‘ethnic edge’ for Paris Fashion Week, so they raided the puja thali without knowing the baseline cultural context.”
A person added, “I don’t care abt sindoor and all, but she has always performed her culture in an exaggerated, catering to Western lens manner, this can’t be the first time y’all are surprised,” while another bluntly stated, “She has managed to culturally appropriate her own culture.”
On the other side, fans stepped up to defend Lara’s expression of heritage, writing, “Sindoor is worn on so many occasions. It is also worn in many parts of our culture as an act of harbouring strength and emotional resilience.”
Reddit weighs in
The conversation spilled over onto Reddit’s r/InstaCelebsGossip, where a screenshot of Lara at the event was posted under the title: “Umm why is she wearing sindoor; what’s going on Lara Raj. Is wearing sindoor a trend now?”
Redditors offered a mix of humour, confusion, and disappointment. “Newlywed bhabhi (sister-in-law) on her honeymoon, she does look good, though,” joked one commenter, which prompted the reply, “She does look good, but sindoor is not an accessory, right?”
Tackling the fashion execution, a fan noted, “Ate and left a lot of bread crumbs (Sorry Lara, I love you, but what is this),” to which someone countered, “She left the bread and ate the crumbs.” Another Redditor shared their take on the overall ensemble: “Lara’s fashion definition is being tacky. The sindoor, bindi and the outfit do not go together at all. The fact that she is used as the blueprint of Indian/Hindu culture saddens me to the core.”
Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
