4 THE VOICE | THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018 | EDITORLINDSEY LLOYD Stories and Photos by Desirée Garcia SOUTH ASIAN FASHION WEEK Mw | Wy EIN 668 WoAIWalyle “atti Model wears designer Lux Collections at South Asian Fashion Week at the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver, Coquitlam. f Designers from Wellgroomed Designs Inc. and a model wearing their gowns at South Asian Fashion Weel Ethnic threads go Local designers bring South Asian fashi ancouvers South Asian fashion community is pro- viding a platform for other cultures to embrace their clothing and design through a runway show. South Asian Fashion Week, hosted last weekend at Coquitlam’s Hard Rock Casino, was created with the goal of making South Asian fashion ac- cessible to a wider audience, featuring over 10 local designers. Cindy Khella, one of the show's producers, said the concept started as one extravagant fashion show before turning into a multi-day event to give South Asian design the representation it currently lacks in mainstream fash- ion. According to Khella, Vancouver is an international fashion destination for South Asian wedding wear, with some customers flying in from Europe. “It’s the same designers, so why not also make a platform for other clothing that they're designing,” Khella said of how the show was created. Raman Johal-Chauhan, owner of clothing store House of Raina, was excited when she was approached by the fashion week team because she felt the show fits with her store’s mission statement of South Asian fashion in- clusivity. “There’s interracial marriages and SOUTH ASIAN FASHION ATAGLANCE » Bridal wear The South Asian bridal fashion market is estimated to be worth approximately $100 billion dollars. » Jewellery Jewellery makes up $40 billion dollars of the bridal industry. people who are going to South Asian weddings,” Johal-Chauhan said. “[We're] making sure people that weren't necessarily Indian, would want to come in and feel comfortable shop- ing.” Johal-Chauhan said her designers have created clothing with less em- broidery, different shapes and darker colours to break away from tradition to create a unique sense of style, with a modern touch. “We used crop tops with a harem ant instead of a traditional salwar,” Johal-Chauhan said, referring to one of her fashion week designs that changed how the traditional Indian baggy trou- ser is worn. Usually a saree, a South Asian fe- male garment that is draped around the waist and shoulder, has a blouse underneath. But Johal-Chauhan chose to make the saree look like a top and a skirt to appeal to modern tastes with- out losing a connection to tradition. Bindu Khatri, who attended South Asian Fashion Week, said fashion has something for everyone and that South Asians are proud to see people from other cultures wearing their clothing. “We, as Indian, wear Western clothes all the time, we wear Pakistani clothes, we wear even Chinese, and we love to wear Kimonos,” she said. “When we see people from other SOURCE: FORBES.COM » Fashion week Lakme Fashion Week, held twice a year in Mumbai, now ranks amongst the top 10 fashion weeks in the world. cultures too, w designed by In theirs, it's very “Fashion is we can again, one,” Khatri sai us is amazing, platforms, all 1 away and you'r But several d specify the diff fashion and apy For example, turban design a last month, acc Associates dre: preparation for