Fashion is a term which is
always related with modernization and development but the evolution and
expansion of fashion depends also on tradition and culture of various places.
For example, it can be the hand embroidery practiced in a small village of
Gujarat, India, or African culture and tradition, or the various sub-cultures
found in Hong Kong.
Fashion designers from
around the world create new and innovative collection by taking inspirations
from their own culture as well as from the culture of other regions. They merge
the culture of east with the west and the north with the south to create new
patterns and designs.
In an interview with
fibre2fashion, Ms. Shelly Gera, marketing head of Shrujan, says, “Hand
embroidery from Kutch in Gujarat has influenced the fashion industry in a big
way. Starting from the street fashion, where trendy bags and garments designed
with bold and colorful Kutchi embroidery with lots of mirrors, to the high end
fashion designers who use both its bold and finer forms in their products, are
influenced by hand embroidery.”
Talking about the
significance of Kutch embroidery, she says, “Hand embroidery from Kutch is not
just about different techniques of embroidery but it is a means of social and
cultural expression for the communities who practice them.”
“Each embroidery has a
soul of its own lexicon of stitches and motifs and it is a very personal craft
which women have been practicing for their own use,” she explains.
Shrujan is an organization
in India which promotes the hand embroidery weavers in Kutch at Gujarat.
Kenyan fashion designer
Liz Ogumbo, who has launched her own clothing brand after spending about 14
years within the fashion industry, says that African culture and tradition has
been the inspiration for her entry in the fashion industry.
“Africa is the hub of art.
The musical space (both vocal and instrumental), fabric, earth that produces
clay for pottery, grass for the artifacts, beads created out of wood, mud,
glass, precious stones etc., establishes a space for creative works and I have
got my inspiration from Africa,” she mentions.
Various local and
international fashion weeks held globally also plays a vital role in promoting
local culture through emerging designers. Some of the examples of such
platforms are the Zimbabwe Fashion Week, Hong Kong Fashion Week and New Zealand
fashion Week.
Sandra Chau, an emerging
fashion designer from Hong Kong who has created her own label Flux talks about
the influence of Hong Kong in her life. She says, “Being in Hong Kong actually
inspired me to think more about fashion and try to get out of the territorial
boundary.”
“Hong Kong is a small
city, yet it has gathered many different cultures and sub0cultures and it
stands as an important platform in global fashion industry as it creates an
interesting fashion culture between orientaland western,” she concludes.
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