Besides mentioning Waris Ahluwalia, Soraya Roberts assesses the emergence and use of the Sikh turban in fashion, and the motivation for Sikh designers to incorporate the Sikh article of faith in their portfolio:

“Having introduced turbans on the runway and having had such good press so far, I believe I have brought a little more awareness to this religion,” [designer Jeetinder Sandhu] tells The Daily Beast. “I believe people need to be more aware of Sikhism, because it’s a religion that’s not very well known.”

The article also discusses the use of the turban by non-Sikh designers and models:

There is the concern that in fashion, Sikhism is reduced to mere aesthetic. [The fashion blog] Singh Street Style, according to Vogue India, states its models “must be wearing a Dastar in the photo” even if they don’t regularly. Meanwhile, Jean-Paul Gaultier has been criticized for dressing non-Sikh models in turbans in his Spring 2013 menswear collection. He said he thought it “seemed right” to put his “sailors” in the headdress after seeing images of Sikh turbans. He wasn’t the first haute couturier to do so—in 2011, Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel cruise collection dressed non-Sikh male models in bedazzled turbans as well.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

(See previous posts about designer/actor and American Turban meme Waris Ahluwalia here.)