South Asian New York Fashion Week Returns in September
For the second year in a row, South Asian New York Fashion Week will return for the 2023 runways from Sept. 9 through 15. Founders Shipra Sharma and Hetal Patel started the platform to showcase South Asian and South Asian-diaspora designers, models and creatives. Showcasing the diversity within the South Asian community is a pillar of SANYFW.
To further strengthen its foothold within the New York fashion scene, the initiative has newly announced its advisory board of high-profile South Asians. The board includes Aparna Rao, entertainment public relations executive; Areesh Haq, senior producer at IMG Focus and creative director of SANYFW; Liya Thachil, creative director and celebrity stylist; Manasa Reddy, head of e-commerce at Max Mara U.S.; Neerja Patel, founder and chief executive officer at Neerja Public Relations; Neha Prakash, entertainment director at Marie Claire; Sajan Patel, marketing director of watches and fine jewelry at Chanel; Sean Gupta, senior vice president of streaming strategy at Paramount + and Simron Chopra, head of finance Patek Philippe U.S.
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“The SANYFW advisory board was created to draw in the diverse and unique perspectives of experts in various fields,” said Shipra Sharma and Hetal Patel, cofounders of SANYFW. “The advisers will guide the SANYFW executive team in areas of fashion/styling, finance, media/PR, marketing, partnerships and strategy. The main goal for the advisers and the SANYFW executive team is to create a platform that will motivate our designers to showcase their art to a global audience, all while providing any resources necessary to scale up their businesses.”
The inaugural SANYFW last September was hosted at a slew of iconic and historical New York venues such as Chelsea Factory, 48 Wall Street and the High Line Nine, featuring internationally known designers Nomi Ansari and Mayyur Girotra. Furthermore, last year’s runway partnered up with tech company Nate, which allowed attendees to scan a QR code from the runway to purchase and share on social media.
To continue its promotion and uplifting of South Asian talent, the initiative launched SANYFW: The Bazaar featuring well-known artisans, craft makers, jewelers and others, to become a hotspot to help discover emerging South Asian brands and help build up the small business community.
“SANYFW, the first global South Asian fashion initiative in NYC, pioneered a platform to uplift and support the South Asian fashion industry,” said Sharma and Patel. “For our second year, we are coming back with a focus on the cross-section of self-identity and culture. We are aiming to work with designers that pay homage to their roots through their designs while celebrating uniqueness and innovation. The South Asian community has never been a monolith, and through fashion we can show the world the richness of our culture.”
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