Hindus are upset at the depiction of the Hindu Goddess Lakshmi on swimwear displayed at recently concluded Australian Fashion Week held in Sydney, Australia. Australian designer Lisa Burke who held her first individual show at the Australian Fashion Week later issued an apology to the Hindu community. Her label is called Lisa Blue. The inspiration for her show was apparently to "raise awareness for whale and dolphin conservation".The trouble started when a model wearing a swimsuit of goddess Lakshmi printed on its front and rear walked down the ramp and this apparently did not go well with Hindu nationalists as they took to the streets burning the Australian flag in protest as they deem this as a act of disrespect to Hindu sentimentalism.

We would like to offer an apology to anyone we may have offended and advise that the image of Goddess Lakshmi will not appear on any piece of Lisa Blue swimwear for the new season, with a halt put on all production of the new range and pieces shown on the runway from last week removed. This range will never be available for sale in any stockists or retail outlets anywhere in the world.

"We apologise to the Hindu community and take this matter very seriously," said the designer's web site.

This is not the first time that such an incident has happen.In the past also many designers have used the pictures of Hindu Gods and Godesses without understanding the symbolism attributed to them. A few months ago US president was shown wit pair of hands like Godess Durga, French shoe brand Minelli, that had images of Lord Rama on shoes. It was followed by protests from Hindu groups, and the shoes had to be withdrawn.