ASA 141
Week 6
There are a few points I'd like to make after reading "It's Hip to be Asian" by Parminder Bhachu. First, it was empowering to learn that the fashion industry in Britain is women-run businesses. I am not a feminist per se, but sometimes it is discouraging to see distorted sex-ratio in certain industries; however, it was not the case here, and the businesswomen are successful.
Second, the fluidity and flexibility of the British fashion industry are fascinating. A shop owner in Britain works with her client who is looking for a specific attire for a wedding; they collaborate to come up with a design, which the owner does the final touch and faxes it to a manufacturing factory in India; three weeks later, the client gets the final product back in Britain. We have to take a moment and appreciate the development of technology. The British Asian businesswomen took advantage of this advanced piece and applied it to their fashion businesses. The end result? They thrived in their world.
Lastly, the author makes a good point that this whole phenomenon of "currifying Britain" is not one-way directed. Rather, both British and Asian cultures influence each other in a way Britain Asians are "Englishized" while they "Asianized" the British fashion industry. I wonder whether the same formula applies to the other designers in the rest of the world.
Cherie Blair, the former British Prime Minister's wife, is well known for her obsession with Indian clothes.
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