From cultural self-hate to Punjabi & London fusion

‘Exotic’ is the new cool in the west, including the fashion world. However, this is not without controversy, as white celebrities sporting bindis or saris have often been faced anger from the Indian community over cultural appropriation. Now, those in the Indian diaspora themselves are embracing their culture, and one person at the forefront of this is London-based

Simran Randhawa

or ‘Simi Sear’ (@simisear) as she is known as on Instagram.

Randhawa

explains why she began amalgamating Indian style into her everyday look, and it seems that that is has more cultural significance than just fashion.

“In terms of my fusion style, there was no one specific point which inspired or triggered it, but rather it was a natural evolution in my self-expression. When I moved away from

London

for university (to a white majority city) I felt very isolated and alienated. Coming from a diverse city like London to a place where my difference was glaringly obvious (not just the colour of my skin, but my language and culture) really led me to question who I was. It was through this process that I began to get in touch with my roots again by cooking more Punjabi food, focusing on Indian media, speaking more Punjabi and going to the temple. As style was something I had always been interested in, expressing this change in my identity through my clothing was more the ‘next step’ and a natural progression”.

She combines Indian culture with English by including items like bindis or dupattas in her outfits. “Generally, I find Indian accessories easiest to incorporate into my outfits, our jewellery has a very distinct look which stands out irrespective of the clothing. I always gravitate towards bindis and they have become my trademark. You don’t feel like you need to copy someone e l s e !

I’ve worn dupattas with jeans, sari tops with trousers and kurtas tucked into my skirts.”

Randhawa whose father’s family is from Punjab and her mother’s Malaysian, highlights the importance of these fashion statements with regards to being a member of the diaspora.

“Being able to make such a statement through my clothing was important to me after being ashamed of my heritage for so long. Growing up as a second generation minority in a country where the media glorified a culture which was not my own (and placed mine on a lesser platform) led to many years of selfhate and a neglect of Punjabi culture. Hence, it symbolises reclamation of my culture. However, it was also never a conscious decision in terms of I’m going to wear this to make this point about society. The general response has been overwhelmingly positive, I think it has been important for young brown women to see that they don't have to pick one aspect of their identity and that duality is actually something to be celebrated”.

Randawa

whose following comprises mostly women, says, “I’d love to see more guys doing similar things with their style.”