Girl group LOONA is all set to impress the fans with their upcoming music video ‘PTT (Paint the Town)’ and they recently launched the much-anticipated teaser from the video.
While the teaser promises a powerful performance of LOONA, it’s grabbing eyeballs for a different reason as netizens continue to debate whether the member’s look could be considered appropriative of Indian culture.
In the“&3” teaser video, LOONA members Hyunjin and Vivi are seen donning an exotic look that features two unique headpieces that share a resemblance with traditional South Asian jewellery- maang tikka and matha patti.

These pieces of jewellery traditionally hold a significant value for an Indian bride as their ‘Solah Shringar’ which helps to transcend into the married life.
As soon as the teaser was out, netizens took to Twitter to share a chain of mixed emotions.
While some slammed Hyunjin and Vivi for their ‘offensive’ headpieces, others took a stand for the girls and said that their ‘inspired’ look should be considered cultural appreciation rather than cultural appropriation.
One user wrote, “kpop idols all the time wear these because their companies put them in it, but again they don’t know the significance to desi culture and they need to be educated.
for ANY CULTURE to be used simply as an aesthetic is wrong”
“please as a desi person that does not look like a maang tikka to me and even so the headpieces are mostly for aesthetic in the first place” added another.
See more reactions here:

please as a desi person that does not look like a maang tikka to me and even so the headpieces are mostly for aesthetic in the first place— &vi (@oddeyeicrcle) 1624548503000
why what vivi and hyunjin are wearing IS cultural appropriation — a thread by a desi first, what are maang tikkas… https://t.co/94Uo3xnUt5— haseul thinker (@thinkshaseul) 1624554954000
OKAY BUT WHY ARE PEOPLE GOING CRAZY OVER LOONA CA WITH INDIAN CONTEXT WITHOUT ASKING US, INDIAN??????— Junhee Enthusiast (@junquisite) 1624553266000
as a brown person / indian and as an orbit I can say it did irk me a little knowing the concept is inspired by boll… https://t.co/Paapkr5xDI— & haseul (@loonseul) 1624548940000
@thinkshaseul Thanks for the cultural lesson on the headpieces.
Didn’t realize the cultural significance and the th… https://t.co/joI0ZeKKPl— & Sweet Potato Frustration (@Kakaibaskin) 1624575766000
Just a gentle reminder that the line between cultural appropriation and appreciation is sometimes vague.
With this,… https://t.co/mxQfvepcPI— kiarra is meeting LOONA OT12 ♡ (@najeongsryujin) 1624548844000
Meanwhile, talking about the new title track ‘PTT (Paint The Town)’, BlockBerry Creative had shared that the music video will be touching upon Bollywood influences.