British Asian Fashion: Has it finally got its own identity?

Asiana Couture Catwalk (L-R Mani Kohli Khubsoorat, Ashan's and Aada by Gudu G) Image: Rafyl

I've recently entered my 5th year of working on a British Asian fashion magazine. I've lost count of how many fashion catwalk shows I've been to, the number of trend reports I've written and the thousands of images I've sifted through. 

The fabrics, designs, colours and embellishments are always extraordinary but unless you pay attention to detail, it's hard to sometimes tell them apart. There are some key designers who set the trends each season but over and over again you see the same things happening. It's like fashion in general: trends go around in circles so to someone who doesn't know much about Asian fashion their immediate reaction may be...'it all looks the same'...and truth be told I wouldn't blame them. 

If you were to look back at the last decade of British Asian fashion you'll spot similar things occurring: red Latin inspired ball gowns, red and gold churidar suits, heavy Mughal embroidery...is it because British designers are too lazy to start setting new trends, they keep going back to the old ones?

This doesn't happen in India; their designers seem to be far more progressive. Take Manish Arora...

These snaps were taken at Paris Fashion Week earlier this month and customary with his signature style they are are bright, quirky and have personality.

Similarly the calibre of designers who exhibited at Lakme Fashion Week in India also in March this year were at the top of their game for being influential. In fact if the mainstream fashion press ever do want to look at the what's happening in South Asian fashion they'll go straight to these established designers in India and won't even thinking about looking at UK talent.

Well it's time they did. 

A couple of weeks ago a new kind of fashion show took place in Birmingham bringing with it evidence that British based Asian designers are finally realising the importance of developing their own style. The Asiana Couture Catwalk held at Edgbaston Cricket Stadium was a showcase of contemporary fashion for men and woman and for the first time showed signs of originality and 'trends' emerging which could so easily impact on the wider, mainstream fashion industry.

I felt the standards were good enough to compete on an international scale. I don't mean that to sound patronising...I just honestly think the clothes have got better to the point they don't look like 'British Asian clothes for British Asian people', but have wider appeal. 

Here are some of the outfits to explain what I mean:

Mani Kohli - Khusboorat (London)

Bombay Stores (Bradford)

Gul's Style (Ilford)

Adaa by Gudu G (Birmingham)

Arinder Bhullar

Kiran's Creations

Ahsan's (Birmingham)

Kyles Collection (London - jewellery)

There is absolutely no reason a Western A'list celebrity shouldn't wear one of the bold, red evening dresses by Kiran's Creations, that a slender popstar star can't wear the gold lace catsuit by Gudu G or a British woman of any ethnicity wear one of the floaty, summer festival themed kaftans available from Bombay Stores. 

Similarly I've met white English men fascinated by Asian men's sherwanis - they aren't all cream and gold and made for weddings; this darker pair have a smart theme to them which could easily crossover as an 'acceptable' form of menswear in public by again, a man of any ethnicity, without him looking like he's just come back from travelling, or leads an alternative/New Age lifestyle.

So what does this actually mean and does it matter?

Well sadly I think we are still many years away from a mainstream Western fashion magazine featuring clothes by Asian designers...but if these designers continue to keep their standards high, try and push boundaries and 'design' rather than copy each other or rely on past collections then I hope one day they'll gain wider recognition and become a more valued part of the British Asian industry as a whole. 

And that's just for starters...

As for what I wore to the fashion show, I'm currently going though what I'm calling my orange 'Oompa Loompa' phase and this ensemble kind of just came together from things already in my wardrobe. I'm pictured with the best-dressed man at the show, jewellery designer Anees Malik. Whenever I see him he always looks unique, also I so rarely meet (or see) Asian men that have perfected their own original image so he deserve a special mention!

If you're interested in finding out more about what's happening in the world of British Asian fashion then you should check out Asian Fashion Blog, Author Nazma does a sterling job of keeping abreast of the industry and her blog is packed with great pictures and keep an eye on Asiana.TV. Enjoy! 

All catwalk images taken by Rafyl 

Book review: Please God, Find Me a Husband! by Simone Lia

I have been looking forward to the launch of Simone Lia's new book since I picked up a mini sample of it at the Comica Festival last year. It was one of those teasing frustrating things where by you read a few pages then suddenly it stops and you're left wanting more (like at the end of a TV series where you're left on a cliff-hanger and you have to wait patiently to see what happens next...Sherlock being the obvious example : (

Simone is a graphic novelist best known for writing & illustrating Fluffy; a tale of a man and his rabbit Fluffy (who assumes he's not a rabbit but is actually human like his 'dad'). I'm very fussy with books, if my attention isn't held by page two I normally give up. Fluffy on the other hand is the only book that has ever made me cancel all my plans. After reading the first page I sat down and read the whole book in one go. I can't explain the feeling other than reading it just felt so much more important than anything else I could possibly do.

Equally I bunked off my boxing class on Tuesday as I just had to be there at the launch day because I was so desperate to know what would become of the heroine! The event took place at Gosh! Comics in Soho, Central London.

When I arrived just after 6.30 the signing was in full swing - I could just about make out Simone in the corner already seated and drawing away.

I joined the queue, it looked ok...but after 45 minutes I was still at the bottom of the staircase and was beginning to feel very faint so I decided to go home and read the book instead. (Hopefully Simone can sign it another time!)

So, what exactly is Please God, Find Me a Husband! about? Well the title hits the spot perfectly, it's the tale of a 30 something year old single girl, an autobiographical account of Simone, who suddenly realises she doesn't want to be alone any more. She talks abit more about it in this video, filmed by Gosh!

The story involves adventure (going on a Thelma & Louise style trip)...

romance...(finding her own Brad Pitt)

tragedy...(a dear friend being diagnosed with cancer)

and comedy...(Jesus playing a game of Operation!)

It took me two days to read and my overall reaction is that I am in complete awe of Simone. It takes an incredibly brave person to share their personal life in such an honest way. She captures some really poignant observations that completely normal, ordinary people think, and go through. Life isn't always exciting, sometimes we get down and other times super enthusiastic about things. Often our focus is directed on completely the wrong thing but we all need to discover that in our way. 

One of the most likeable things about graphic novels is the fact you can talk about any subject you want. In Simone's case choosing religion as a key theme is also brave (I sometimes feel like mentioning the 'R' word in this country is completely taboo) and in that respect it's a refreshing and important publication that is well worth exploring. It's also brilliantly illustrated, thoughtful and inspiring. My advice is check it out, next time you're in a bookshop, and be prepared to get hooked : )

Please God, Find Me a Husband! by Simone Lia is published by Jonathan Cape Graphic Novels and is on sale now and costs £14.99.