Indian fashion for me is an undeniable passion. It combines two of my greatest loves — Indian culture and world fashion. I was often teased in school because each time I went on a trip to some exotic location, I would return wearing some tradition piece of clothing or jewelry from the locale. It was mockingly called a ‘National Costume’ by what I now recognize to have been my envious classmates, when really I was just inspired by the ever striking looks achieved by women around the world, when wearing their countries’ fashions with pride and elegance. From Morocco, I carried back a Jellaba and some powdered Kohl, from South Africa loads of beaded bracelets and a Xhosa embroidered apron, from New Mexico a warm woolen poncho with Native American beadwork and from India… Well, what haven’t I brought back from India?! And the extensive list of my Indian treasures does include — each and every time — some designer wear from the fabulous Manish Arora. Be it a colorful t-shirt, those fabulous neon colored leggings, a printed cotton mini-dress in psychedelic colors, something Arora is always a must in my overstuffed, ready-to-burst suitcase coming home…

Luckily for the AVS readers, Engendered has organized a rocking fashion show on December 19th featuring the designs of Manish Arora, as well as those of Afghani designer Zolaykha Sherad — who was recently featured in Time Magazine  – jewelry designer Amrita Singh and Asher Jay — an up and coming designer who has worked for such well respected brands as Anna Sui, Ralph Lauren and Anne Klein. The event — which will include the fashion show, as well as a VIP reception before and a fabulous party after the show — will be held at Asia Society and promises to be not only magnificently in style but also consciously empowering, as every event organized by the Engendered organization always manages to be.

While Manish Arora will be presenting a collection that pays tribute to the resilience and spirit of AIDS victims around the world, Zolaykha Sherzad’s line will be borrowing for the Sufi tradition to offer a symbolic representation of prayers dedicated to women who have survived violence and displacement in their lives. Asher Jay’s line — titled ‘Intromission’ — will play on androgynous motifs, with four distinct themes, each featuring four looks. To finish off the glamour factor for the evening, the stunning jewelry of Amrita Singh will be shown — typically featured in the collections of such glamour greats as Christian Lacroix and Oscar de la Renta — while beloved filmmaker Mira Nair, ‘Bombay Dreams’ hottie Manu Narayan and super-comedian Vidur Kapur will walk the runway.

In the words of Engendered Executive Director Myna Mukherjee “Fashion Conscience 09 will use fashion as an artistic medium to create social change, bringing awareness to issues affecting under-served communities. This year, three designers will create patterns and unearth fabrics focused on three distinct, yet inter-connected, issues – women who have survived violence, people affected with HIV/AIDS and communities that celebrate diversity through non-conforming gender identity and desire. Each of these fashion lines will be introduced by a performance art piece and borrow from the Sufi, Christian, Tantric, and Buddhist spiritual traditions of South Asia, all in an effort to foster dialogue and promote education around gender, sexuality, and religion.” 

For tickets to the December 19th Fashion Conscience 09 event at Asia Society click here, to access Sulekha’s website. For more info about Engendered, check out their website.