Sahib Singh: Four-year-old boy becomes Burberry children's first Sikh model
The iconic image has won the hearts of many on the internet as the boy is seen wearing a Patka- a head covering worn for religious reasons by Sikh children.
Friday 29 July 2022 00:35, UK
A four-year-old boy has been cast as Burberry children's first-ever Sikh model- as his mother told Sky News the support on social media has been "overwhelming".
Sahib Singh has featured as a model for the British luxury fashion brand's Autumn-Winter 2022 campaign.
The child-model is pictured wearing a padded puffer jacket with a matching cardigan, shorts and T-shirt.
The iconic image has won the hearts of many on the internet as the boy is seen wearing a Patka- a head covering worn for religious reasons by Sikh children.
It comes as a first for the brand and another step towards the representation of diverse communities.
Sahib's mother, Harjot Kaur, who runs his Instagram page told Sky News she wants her children to feel confident within themselves and didn't get her son into modelling to become "famous".
She said: "When we look at online stores and adverts we just felt like they're missing certain sectors of representation.
"There's not enough people wearing turbans, the kippah, hijabs … or there's just not enough brands picking them."
Comments have flooded Twitter overnight with the four-year-old going viral online.
One person tweeted: "Wait Burberry has a little Sikh boy in a patka as a model omg... I never thought I'd see Sikh representation like this."
The mother of two said: "We are getting told every day he's not our son he's the world's son."
She added: "It's not just the south Asian community who have shown up which has been amazing, but we have also had messages and calls from people from all walks of life- it's lovely to see."
Sahib Singh who also has a love for sports first started modelling for a family friend's clothing company Kookoo But Kind before getting signed with model and talent agency South Coast Kidz.
Harjot Kaur said she hopes to expose her children to experiences that are not the typical Asian routes whilst representing who they are.
She said "Our culture and religion is really important to us and we want to install that in our children".
She added the support on social media has been "overwhelming".
Mrs Kaur and dad Ranjit Singh limit how much of the modelling scene their son is exposed to, adding: "iI is fine if [Sahib] doesn't want to model when he is older."
Designer fashion brand Burberry cast their first British-Indian model, Neelam Gill in 2013.