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Visitors to the Clotheshow 2001 held at NEC Birmingham recently came ready for the regular, but with added expectations of experiencing Asian Fashion. As the evening progressed in a blaze of lights and colours, many began to realise that the negligent drape of a Pashmina over the shoulders of many a celebrity in recent years, complementing to perfection the offshoulder western evening gown, was an Indian statement. So are the embroidered jeans that so many young things in the neighbourhood sport, and the silken stoles and more that make stylish accessories for evening wear.

SHOWTIME FOLKS: Men sport skirts on the stage (above) while models dance to an Elvis Presley tune (middle); A model displays an English design

No, Indian fashion does not begin and end with the saree. It has been offering exotic and comfort wear to British Asians and to the mainstream for years. Even designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Alexander McQueen have been wooing the western world of fashion with their Indian inspirations for years.

Now finally, Indian fashion has come of age and is being recognised as an important part of the British fashion industry. For the first time, the very best in British-Asian fashion took centrestage at the Clotheshow 2001.

At the show hosted by Josie and later taken over by BBC London presenter Imran Khan, about 17,000 visitors were exposed to western and eastern designs. Kicking off with day wear, evening wear and sports wear, the models moved on to embroidered lehangas, salwar kameez and kurta pyjamas-very Asian, but familiar to the British.

Asian designs were dominated by heavily embroidered or brocade garments. Many sequences had similar designs and formations with different colours. The riot of red, gold and blue, however, was overshadowed by the Chiffons' black collection which featured embroidered leather trousers on the catwalk. All the presentations had models sporting Cleopatra headgear that went well with the black gowns. What was missing was casual cotton, batik and tie-and-dye.

NRI DIARY

HAIL ENAMEL Ruby Hammer bags the Outstanding Individual Award To have your make-up range displayed alongside the likes of Chanel, Christian Dior and Rimmel is no mean feat. But Ruby Hammer, 39, has achieved what most do not even dare to dream. She has set up a chain of Ruby & Millie make-up stores across Britain and the world. Winner of the first Outstanding Individual's Award at Clotheshow 2001, an excited Hammer thanked her mother and "Andy" for her success. "At the end of the day to be recognised for what you thoroughly enjoy doing is great," she said. SOLID FOUNDATION: Hammer It took years of hard work and perseverance to attain the kind of success Hammer has achieved today. Her Asian background helped her get an edge over other make-up companies which could not satisfy the needs of dark-skinned girls. Ruby & Millie foundations are a rage among Asian and black girls. Pamela Premavrithan, an economics student, says, "I tried various brands of foundation but nothing made me feel confident like Ruby & Millie did. Even though it is slightly expensive I have become a loyal customer now." Agreeing that being Asian and dusky did help her in coming up with the right foundation, Hammer says, "Being Asian helped as I could test it on myself. Also, it makes sense when an Asian instead of an Italian introduces a foundation for dusky skinned girls." But Ruby & Millie is not targeted at Asians alone. The products cover a full spectrum catering to needs of every race and colour. The Ruby & Millie project saw the meeting of directional and forward thinking minds. The concept was developed by Hammer, a make-up artist, and successful beauty publicist Millie Kendell. After three years of research and development, Ruby & Millie launched their first UK sites in Harvey Nicholos, London, and Leeds in 1998. Today, they have international exposure in Netherlands, southeast Asia and Japan. Speaking about the British Asian Fashion Awards, Hammer says, "It will benefit a lot of Asians in the fashion business ... now that the mainstream has finally recognised it."

The non-Asian part of the show also featured men in skirts and tube tops while women sauntered past gracefully in hip trousers with models dancing to Michael Jackson's Smooth Operator and Elvis Presley numbers.

In recognition of the growing power of the British Asian fashion industry, the first ever British Asian Fashion Awards (BAFA) were initiated by the British Heart foundation at the show.

The launch was completed with the presentation of the very first award-the new outstanding achievement award to make-up and beauty expert, Ruby Hammer.

Other than catwalk shows, visitors at the Clotheshow attended hair and beauty demonstrations, collected expert fashion advice and viewed celebrity and music acts.

The event included a new feature, The New Deal Fusion Village. This area was dedicated to delivering the best in Asian fashion, jewellery and accessories and specialist eastern services. This included massages, some of them speciality ones devised in Kerala; aromatherapy meaning destressing and beautifying sessions using fragrances and essential oils, and henna tattooing. The latter is a hot favourite this season.

The excitement was tangible as youngsters laden with shopping bags actually shopped till they dropped. Says one young enthusiast: "I had a great time shopping. The Asian awards is a wonderful concept. We need to celebrate the talent and encourage more youngsters to see fashion as a real opportunity. I'm happy that we are finally recognising Asian fashion as a true influencing factor both within and outside the community."

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CATEGORIES OF RECOGNITION # Asian Fashion Retailer # Asian Designer of the Year # Mainstream Asian Designer of the Year # Fashion Model of the Year # Best Dressed Male and Female: People's Choice # Outstanding Individual

The new set of awards is meant to recognise the achievements of Asian and other designers who are inspired by garments from the Indian subcontinent. The move has been lauded by Asian designers, models and make-up artists, besides others of the community.

Celebrating the launch, Indian model Farheen Khan said that the Asian fashion industry has been growing, and the UK is now producing its own set of Indian designers who are creating fashion for British Asians and the mainstream.

And for celebrities. Thirty one-year-old Babs Mahil of Forest Gate has created several Asian-style outfits for Cheri Blair, including a sparkly turquoise number which turned more than a few heads at a recent meeting of Asian business leaders.

Other ambassadors for Asian fashion are Dame Judi Dench, who inevitably wears Abu Jani outfits while attending award ceremonies. And also Jemima Khan, who has been making eastern wear more accessible and alluring to her western counterparts. Cherie Blair, too is known to have attended official functions wearing Indian clothes. Although Indian designs have been moving towards the mainstream for quite some time now, Asian talent has largely remained on the sidelines of the British fashion industry.

To promote Asian fashion and to encourage young designers, BAFA will announce its winners in various categories (see box) at the Clotheshow fashion extravaganza next year, and of non-Asian designers whose creations evince eastern influences are also encouraged to enter.