An Ode to Bangles: Delving into 2024 fashion trends inspired by modern South Asian Fashion

In a world that constantly changes, it feels good to have invariables. Invariables that serve as reminders, something that tells you everything is the same as it ever was. An invariable, like fashion.

Model: Arsheeya Garg. Image credits: Justin Joseph Rotolo (@*justinrotoloshots*)

Fashion is something that will always captivate, invigorate and inspire creative minds all over the world. This collaboration has led to multiple facets of cultural fashion fusion, specifically, Western and South Asian fashion.

These two sects of fashion have enshrined themselves into deep cultural values and motifs, but what we fail to notice is the effort of bringing South Asian fashion back into the Western world. South Asian communities are in awe at the recent upbringing of this age-old traditional attire being brought into the closets of modern Western and South Asian women, so let’s talk about it.

To explore this, let’s go back to the invention of the Sari. Cotton was first cultivated and woven in the Indian subcontinent around the fifth millennium BCE. A long, woven drape was worn by the most illustrious women, adorned with pure gold jewelry. Now, the vibrant colors, embroidery and draping styles have become all the rage for women in not only India, but the United States as well. For example, one look at Alia Bhatt’s Sabyasachi Sari at the MET Gala can tell you how the Sari’s style is anything but old, rather simply modern.

So what does this mean for Western fashion specifically? Following the Sari, western fashion has taken the roles of inspired South Asian fabrics, with floral and paisley motifs, as well as jewelry.

The recent resurgence of bangles happened in British India when Westerners saw the golden bracelets women wore with their Sarees, and now the chunky bracelet has found its way back in Western fashion after 100 years.

This applies to jhumkas, a type of chunky bell-shaped earring intricately carved into floral-like motifs. Worn heavily within South Asian culture, it found its influence over Western jewelry inspiration.

This resurgence can be dated back to Coachella 2016, when jhumkas, bracelets, and even bindis were worn with Western outfits as an elegant South Asian touch. Now these appearances are a lot more appropriate when Western fashion credits the South Asian fashion aspect they collaborate with.

In 2024, runway trends of long draped scarves, flowy skirts with a blouse, and fabrics directly made in South Asian regions had the chevron, floral, and paisley motif mentioned earlier. These are all inspired by the history of cultural fusion within Western and South Asian fashion. Now, we even see runway trends of chunky ear and face jewelry! A big example of these fashion concepts is the contemporary indo-western fusion show hosted by South Asian New York Fashion Week. But not just on the runway. Now, we even have fast fashion stores, such as EarthBound Trading Co selling Sari Wrap skirts, south Asian-inspired fabrics, and South Asian-inspired jewelry for relatively affordable prices.

In a world where fashion is meant to honor creativity, depth and artistry, we often forget the cultural meaning of fashion as well. Art is meant to be shared, and to see South Asian fashion have a spotlight within aspects of Western culture shows the deep connectivity we feel to appreciate on a distinctly human level.

The cultural fusion within fashion is beautiful, and we hope to see more of this constant recurrence of cultural appreciation coming within the future. After all, it is our brilliance and creativity that inspires consistency in a world of change. Something like invariables, to remind you that everything is the same as it ever was.

An Ode to Bangles: Delving into 2024 fashion trends inspired by modern South Asian Fashion

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