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 Hong Kong in Transition by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Using Computers in History by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Stanislavski On Opera by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Latinization of U.S. Schools by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Elder Care Catastrophe by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Ethnic Groups and Population Changes in Twentieth Century Eastern Europe: History, Data and Analysis by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Rebuilding Communities by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Studies in the Spectator Role by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Objects and Materials by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Current Topics in Management by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book The History of Korea by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Women and the Victorian Occult by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Homeland Security by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book Archetypal Psychotherapy by Parminder Bhachu
Cover of the book The Routledge Handbook of Halal Hospitality and Islamic Tourism 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