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‘at the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver in Coquitlam on Mar. 3.

mainstream

on into the mainstream

saring the clothing that
dians and it's a part of
good.”

me of the places where
blend together and be
d. “Anything that unites

propriation were made.

Clothing designer Dave Singh said
that because of its association with
religion, Gucci's use of the turban was
more for attention then respectful rep-
resentation.

fashion is one of those “I have seen a lot of Hollywood ce- ge ae
he discrimination goes _ lebrities supporting an Indian saree... a eae
e just one.” and I feel proud that they are liking Clockwise from top left: a model =a ee
esigners at fashion week what we create,” Singh said. “A turban wears Zuri Desi t fa hi awe Bee
erence between sharing represents Sikhism, so I did not like gns at fasnion + eee

week; model wears Paisey by
Asma; mannequin wears a gown
at the Wellgroomed Designs Inc.
store.

oropriating religion.

when Gucci unveiled a
ta Milan’s fashion week
usations of cultural ap-

that part.”

“But if it’s done in a tasteful and a
respectful manner, then I think that
there’s no harm in that."

ical

rw.

~

ssing a mannequin in a gown, designed by Dave Singh, at Wellgroomed Designs Inc. store in Surrey,
South Asian Fashion Week.

2:

B.C., in

Breaking
fashion
tradition

Modern twists on
customary wear
attractive to
wider audience

outh Asian fashion designers
are breaking from traditional
fashions to creating new styles

for women.
Raman Johal-Chauhan, owner
of the House of Raina clothing

meee store and a participant in South

Asian Fashion Week, said in
the past South Asian fashion has
been very traditional with minimal
clothing options, but now there
many different options for women.

“Designers are picking up on
different things to let girls express
themselves,” Johal-Chauhan said.
“To allow them different ways to
mix and match, to kind of make
that fashion statement that they
want to make.”

According to her, there’s a grow-
ing demand for less traditional
South Asian clothing.

In her fashion week designs, she
is incorporating modern embroi-
dery with leather appliques and
mirrors as well as some tradi-
tional embroidery techniques of
small knots and stitches.

Johal-Chauhan’s runway de-
signs also included modern

gowns rather than lehengas, a

long, traditional skirt.

“For South Asians, most
people are probably second and
third generation now, and don't
really relate to India the same way
maybe their parents and grandpar-
ents did,” Johal-Chauhan said.
Dave Singh, a participant in
South Asian Fashion Week
and owner of Wellgroomed
= Designs Inc., said he
does not fol-
A low the tra-
Lb ditional
rules

! West-
ern cul-
ture to-
gether in
his designs.
“The _ sil-
A houettes are
I not tradition-
fi ally Indian,”
~ Singh said. “I have
done a lot of experiment-
ing on the different cuts of
the blouses, incorporated
a lot of fringes and feathers
and added Swarovski details.”
Singh starts each design by
discussing with clients what

© they require before submit-
ting the sketch to a factory.
‘There, a sample swatch of
the embroidery is created

and when the client ap-
proves, the full embroi-

dery, garment and sil-
houette process begins.

“It's a step-by-step

process, it can take
anywhere from 30

to 90 days depend-

ing on how elabo-

rate the outfit is,”

Singh said.