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Crystal Tai

When Kate Middleton emerged with her husband Britain’s Prince William onto the tarmac of Pakistan’s Nur Khan airbase on Monday, the buzz on social media was almost palpable.
And it had little to do with the fact the pair were embarking on the first royal tour of the former British colony since 2006.
Rather it was for what she was wearing: an ombre aqua shalwar kameez – a tunic worn with trousers that is Pakistan’s national dress.

“Welcome to Pakistan,” tweeted Zehreeli Chummii. “Thank you [for] wearing our traditional dress.”
“Kate Middleton looks so gorgeous in this subcontinental outfit,” posted @ExMuslimBlogger.
Since then, Pakistani social media has been full of praise for the visiting royals, whose tasteful acts of sartorial tribute to their host nation have won them a legion of new fans who credit them with getting “cultural appreciation” spot on.
Such scenes contrast with those that greeted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his ill-fated trip to India in February 2018.

When Trudeau – who was recently found to have posed for “blackface” and “brownface” photos in the past – spent eight days travelling across India with his family of five, he was accused of a series of cultural gaffes that cost his image dearly.
Among his mistakes were a glittering gold sherwani he wore to a meeting with Bollywood stars and a bright orange turban he wore to a local temple.
“FYI we Indians don’t dress like this every day sir, not even in Bollywood,” Indian politician Omar Abdullah had tweeted at the time, while a chorus of local media branded the visit “disastrous” and the “trip to end all trips”.

The difference in reactions to both incidents shows that the line between cultural appreciation and appropriation is a fine one, says Vivek Dehejia, a professor of economics and philosophy at Carleton University in Canada.
“If the intentions are sincere and respectful, this stays on the line,” he said.
But Trudeau’s Indian dress came off more like a publicity stunt than a genuine tribute to the country, Dehejia said.
“It was crass cultural appropriation playing to the South Asian diaspora audience back home in Canada. It would be like a foreign leader visiting Canada showing up in a kilt at a black tie event,” he said.

Great pic by Martin Keene of PA of Princess Diana in Chitral in 1991. Kate’s hat has peacock feathers while Diana’s looks like bird of prey #RoyalVisitPakistan pic.twitter.com/lNCjCsFayo
— Emily Andrews (@byEmilyAndrews) October 16, 2019

Rather than criticising the British royal couple, most press attention in South Asia has focused on comparisons between Kate and the late Princess Diana, who was praised for similar acts of sartorial homage when she visited Pakistan in 1996.
Among Kate’s most noted outfits have been a bright cornflower blue shalwar kameez she wore to Islamabad Model College for Girls and the bright parakeet green kurta, or loose collarless shirt, that she wore to meet Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Some media observed the shade of green was similar to that of Pakistan’s National Flag. Even William has got in the act, wearing a peacock green sherwani, or long coat along with matching pants, in what the British press breathtakingly recorded as a “royal first”.

So what’s the difference between Trudeau’s insensitive appropriation and the British royals’ tasteful appreciation? Saad Salman, the Pakistani-Canadian founder and editor of The Royal Watcher blog, said the devil is in the details.
“The Trudeau family’s dress was more suitable for the bride and groom at a lavish Indian wedding than for visits to temples or state receptions,” Salman said.
In contrast, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s traditional outfits were classic and quietly understated – much more suited to the events on their schedule. “The Trudeau family simply looked out of place,” he said.

Monica Verma, a PhD candidate in international relations at South Asian University in New Delhi, said Trudeau’s dress did not reflect how real Indians dressed.
“They were dramatic, high on symbolism and looked like the Bollywood version of Indian culture,” she said.
British royal couple William and Kate arrive in Pakistan for ‘complex’ visit
However, Verma said not everyone in India had been offended by Trudeau’s poor dress choices, noting that the very concept of cultural appropriation was Western.
“In South Asian societies, imitation is taken positively,” Verma said. “Copying the dressing style, customs or picking up local vocabulary is seen by the natives as an act of respect by foreigners.”
Still, as Trudeau’s experience suggests, Western dignitaries and world leaders should be cautious when presenting themselves in South Asia, she said.

“We are a diverse region of eight countries,” said Verma. “What is acceptable in India won’t be acceptable in other parts of South Asia … Pakistan as a society is very conservative, and elites have to be cautious of the Islamic sensitivities as well.”
Carleton University’s Dehejia said because of modern colonial history, public figures and leaders from Western nations had to be extra careful in this regard.
“They have a heightened responsibility to be culturally sensitive given the history of colonisation and cultural genocide perpetrated by generations of European colonisers.”


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Why are Prince William and Kate Middleton praised for Pakistani outfits, when Trudeau’s turban was mocked in India?

Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton visit the Bumburate Valley in Pakistan. The pair have been praised for cultural sensitivity in their choice of attire. Photo: AFP

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan (L) walks with Britain's Prince William (R), Duke of Cambridge, and his wife Catherine (C), Duchess of Cambridge, at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad on October 15, 2019. - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan gave a warm welcome in Islamabad on October 15 to Britain's Prince William, the son of his late friend Princess Diana, who is on his first official trip to the country with his wife Kate. (Photo by STR / AFP)

In this photograph released by the Amritsar District Public Relations Officer on February 21, 2018, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (2R), his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau (L), daughter Ella-Grace (2L) and son Xavier prepare chappati for a communal vegetarian meal known as 'langar' at a community kitchen at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. / AFP PHOTO / Amritsar District Public Relations Officer / Handout / -----EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / DPRO " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) along with his wife Sophie Gregoire (L) pay their respects at the SSikh Golden Temple in Amritsar on February 21, 2018. Trudeau and his family are on a week-long official trip to India. / AFP PHOTO / NARINDER NANU

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Pakistan Foreign Ministry on October 14, 2019, Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridgea (R) and his wife Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge arrive at the Pakistan's Nur Khan military airbase in Rawalpindi. - Prince William and his wife Kate arrived in Pakistan for their "most complex" tour to date, with Islamabad eager to tout improved security after years of violent militancy. (Photo by - / Pakistan Foreign Ministry / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO /PAKISTAN FOREIGN MINISTRY " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Britain's Prince William (R), Duke of Cambridge, and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, arrive on a decorated auto-rickshaw to attend a reception in Islamabad on October 15, 2019. - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan gave a warm welcome in Islamabad on October 15 to Britain's Prince William, the son of his late friend Princess Diana, who is on his first official trip to the country with his wife Kate. (Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP)

Britain's Prince William (R), Duke of Cambridge and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, watch a traditional Kalash dance during their visit to the Bumburate Valley in Pakistan northern Chitral District on October 16, 2019. - Prince William and his wife Kate flew near the Afghan border to visit a remote Hindu Kush glacier on October 16, after a morning spent trying on feathered traditional caps and luxurious shawls in Pakistan's mountainous north. (Photo by FAROOQ NAEEM / AFP)

British royal couple William and Kate arrive in Pakistan for ‘complex’ visit amid tight security

Prince William and his wife Kate arrived at Nur Khan base in Islamabad. Photo: AP

Britain's Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visit the Aga Khan Centre, in London, Wednesday Oct. 2, 2019. (Jeff Spicer/Pool via AP)

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It’s a fine line between cultural appreciation and appropriation
Kate Middleton stayed the right side of respectful with her shalwar kameez in Pakistan, but Justin Trudeau’s turban in India looked ‘out of place’


Kate Middleton stayed the right side of respectful with her shalwar kameez in Pakistan, while Trudeau crossed the boundaries of taste with his turban in India.
