Indian Fashion Fusion
When I was younger, my favorite part of celebrating Indian holidays was dressing up. Putting on my finely detailed skirts, wearing jewelry my mom brought on her last trip, and just overall embracing my culture. Growing up as one of the few Indian people in my town did not make it easy for me to feel in touch with my culture, but wearing traditional clothing and dressing the part made me feel more connected.
Indian/Desi fashion is characterized by color, pattern, and carefully crafted details. Desi is an encompassing term for South Asian peoples. The most common types of Indian garments for women are lehenga, churidars, and sarees. As you can see below, these garments are usually insanely detailed. Characterized by fine beading, embroidery, patterns, intricate draping, matching accessories, and even interesting cuts of the clothing.
As I have gotten older, I have seen Indian fashion start to influence the West time and time again. From girls at the beach getting henna to the cuts and frames of modern clothing. A recent example of this influence would be Cardi B at the Grammys and Beyonce during her Renaissance Tour both wearing designs from Indian designer Gaurav Gupta. As you can see in the images, the vibrant colors, cuts, and attention to detail scream Indian while also incorporating enough simplicity to cater to Western stylistic standards.
This is an example of Indian fusion fashion. Fusion fashion combines cultures through clothing, and this can be done with any mix of cultures, today we will just be talking about Indian fusion. In my opinion, anyone can wear fusion fashion, this does not mean anyone can wear traditional Indian attire. As long as you understand and appreciate where the inspiration for your clothing choices comes from, I think you should be okay. Do not pass off someone else's culture as your own, and give credit where credit is due.
A few ways I like to incorporate Indian culture into my fashion include:
Accessorizing! Specifically, wearing gold jewelry, patterned headbands, and bangles.
Wearing Color! As we saw above, bright colors are heavily relevant in Indian fashion, so an easy way to take some inspiration is to wear color. Specifically, maroon, orange, and indigo (which originally came from India).
Incorporating patterns! Indian clothing typically has some pattern, so this can be an easy way to add some fun to your outfits.
I know that it is usually easier to gain fashion inspiration from a visual source, so I have created a Pinterest board for you to peruse as you see fit. I hope you learned something from this article, and if you ever want to know more, let me know!
Strike Out.
Writer: Kushi Zaver
Blog Editor: Jane Dodge
All images were found via Getty images. 