Dangerous Designs

Asian Women Fashion the Diaspora Economies

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Customs & Traditions, Anthropology
Cover of the book Dangerous Designs by Parminder Bhachu, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Parminder Bhachu ISBN: 9781134908639
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: October 5, 2005
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Parminder Bhachu
ISBN: 9781134908639
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: October 5, 2005
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

In late-1990s Britain, the salwaar-kameez or 'Punjabi suit' emerged as a high-fashion garment. Popular both on the catwalk and on the street, it made front-page news when worn by Diana, Princess of Wales and by Cherie Booth, the wife of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
In her ethnography of the local and global design economies established by Asian women fashion entrepreneurs, Parminder Bhachu focuses on the transformation of the salwaar-kameez from negatively coded 'ethnic clothing' to a global garment fashionable both on the margins and in the mainstream. Exploring the design and sewing businesses, shops and street fashions in which this revolution has taken place, she shows how the salwaar-kameez is today at the heart of new economic micro-markets which themselves represent complex, powerfully coded means of cultural dialogue and racial politics. The innovative designs of second-generation British Asian women are drawn from characteristically improvisational migrant cultural codes. Through their hybrid designs and creation of new aesthetics, these women cross cultural boundaries, battling with racism and redefining both Asian and British identities. At the same time, their border-crossing commercial entrepreneurship produces new diaspora economies which give them control over many economic, aesthetic, cultural and technological resources. In this way, the processes of global capitalism are gendered, racialized and localized through the interventions of diasporic women from the margins.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In late-1990s Britain, the salwaar-kameez or 'Punjabi suit' emerged as a high-fashion garment. Popular both on the catwalk and on the street, it made front-page news when worn by Diana, Princess of Wales and by Cherie Booth, the wife of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
In her ethnography of the local and global design economies established by Asian women fashion entrepreneurs, Parminder Bhachu focuses on the transformation of the salwaar-kameez from negatively coded 'ethnic clothing' to a global garment fashionable both on the margins and in the mainstream. Exploring the design and sewing businesses, shops and street fashions in which this revolution has taken place, she shows how the salwaar-kameez is today at the heart of new economic micro-markets which themselves represent complex, powerfully coded means of cultural dialogue and racial politics. The innovative designs of second-generation British Asian women are drawn from characteristically improvisational migrant cultural codes. Through their hybrid designs and creation of new aesthetics, these women cross cultural boundaries, battling with racism and redefining both Asian and British identities. At the same time, their border-crossing commercial entrepreneurship produces new diaspora economies which give them control over many economic, aesthetic, cultural and technological resources. In this way, the processes of global capitalism are gendered, racialized and localized through the interventions of diasporic women from the margins.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Innocence, Knowledge and the Construction of Childhood by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Ruzbihan Baqli by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Pupil, Teacher and Family Voice in Educational Institutions by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book The Second World War by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book African-American Holiness Pentecostal Movement by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Transformational Public Service: Portraits of Theory in Practice by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book The Serial Verb Construction Parameter by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Social Democracy and the Aristocracy by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Working with Brain Injury by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book The Mythic Mind by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Aviation Information Management by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Individual Development from an Interactional Perspective (Psychology Revivals) by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Belonging and Estrangement in the Poetry of Philip Larkin, R.S. Thomas and Charles Causley by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Using Literacy to Develop Thinking Skills with Children Aged 7-11 by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book People Skills for Public Managers by Parminder Bhachu
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy