Pakistani designer Maria B is once again facing controversy, this time accused by Turkish content creator Turkan Atay of withholding full payment for a fashion shoot held earlier this year in Turkey.
Atay, known for her Urdu-language content and boasting over 850,000 followers on Instagram, claims Maria B’s team had contracted her to coordinate a shoot, agreeing on a per-outfit payment to cover local production costs. Despite fulfilling her part of the agreement, Atay says she only received partial compensation, with the designer’s team later backtracking and stating that payments are typically made per reel, not per outfit.
Also Read: Maria B. Shares Thoughts on Farshi Shalwar Trend
“It’s been three months,” Atay said in a video. “They’ve wasted my time, dodged payment, and acted unprofessionally.” She further alleged that after her husband attempted to intervene, previous communications were deleted by Maria B’s team.
This isn’t Maria B’s first brush with controversy involving Turkey. Last year, she came under fire for her “Palestine Collection”, accused of plagiarising Turkish artist Hacı Balina Atölye’s work, which originally appeared on the page Palestine Quebec. The design, meant to express solidarity with Palestine, featured politically symbolic imagery but drew criticism for commercializing a humanitarian cause.
Maria B has yet to respond to Turkan Atay’s accusations.
