“Rabbi Akiva Eiger surely did not wear the same type of head covering as the Rambam or Rif and quite frankly it did not concern him.”
Again you can’t compare a meaningless unintentional change in style to an ideological break from the past.
I also agree with Curiosity that judging others by the color or material of the cloth on their head is wrong. But that doesn’t mean Mizrachi’s intentional break with the religious dress mode of their time is not indicative of a deeper break with Mesorah in a way which is wrong.