South Asian Fashion Week (SAFW) was scheduled to be back for its third year from March 27 to 29 with a new venue – the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel but due to Coronavirus fears, SAFW, like everyone else had to postpone their event. Co-founders Cindy Khella and Farah Hasan, who hosted the kickoff event Wednesday night at Pierre’s Champaign Lounge in downtown Vancouver, said they are optimistic that the event will take place this spring. The elite fashion event was expected to have 700 anticipated guests and more than 100 models working in 10 fashion shows on both the Saturday and Sunday. 

VANCOUVER – South Asian Fashion Week (SAFW) kicked off this week with a launch party at Pierre's in Yaletown Wednesday evening, which was attended by DESIBUZZCanada.

But due to the Coronavirus spread fears and the BC government's imposition of no gathering more than 250 people, SAFW has been postponed, according to organizers.

Statement from South Asian Fashion Week:

"We have been diligently observing the developments in media, as well as monitoring the updates provided by Provincial and Coastal Health on the status of COVID-19 in BC.

As the producers of South Asian Fashion Week we have carefully taken into consideration the health and safety of our designers, models, guests, and SAFW team. The difficult decision to postpone this year’s fashion week due to the coronavirus pandemic is extremely devastating, but it is the right thing to do in the interest of everyone in our community.

The situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve rapidly and we urge everyone to follow guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials.

Stay tuned for new South Asian Fashion Week 2020 dates.

Those who have tickets to the events may use them when the event is rescheduled.”

SAFW was expected to be back for its third year from March 27 to 29 with a new venue – the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel. SAFW is a creative platform for fashion, beauty and design. 

This year, organizers say there is an amazing line-up of both local and international South Asian fashion designers who will showcase their work all in one space, over a three-day weekend. There is no fashion event quite like it. The program includes over 20 runway shows, unique designs and unforgettable art installations.

Co-founders Cindy Khella and Farah Hasan have teamed up with Hartej Dhanda this year to host an event that celebrates and recognizes South Asian designers’ success locally and internationally. The third annual SAFW features an expanded range of designers, stylists, models, artists and photographers.

The elite fashion event will see 700 anticipated guests and more than 100 models working in 10 fashion shows on both the Saturday and Sunday. On Friday March 27, the three-day event kicks off with a Dinner Gala which will include a fashion show featuring top Indian designer Neeta Lulla.

Neeta Lulla is a multiple National Film Award winning Indian costume designer and fashion stylist who has worked on over 300 films. Her name became inseparably associated with Bollywood after actresses Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit wore her costumes in Devdas (2002 Hindi film), as well as another trend-setting Bollywood film – Jodha Akbar.

"Neeta Lulla has designed for Shilpa Shetty, Aishwarya Rai, Sridevi, Juhi Chawla, Abhishek Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan among the most notable celebrities," says co-founder Cindy Khella. "At SAFW this year, our goal is to showcase the versatility of South Asian Fashion not only from Vancouver, but from all around the world as well.”

“After last year’s success of showcasing the Dynamic Designs of International Designer Falguni Shane Peacock for first time ever in Canada, we wanted to build on that and bring some more of the most popular award-winning designers from Bollywood that have never presented their fashion lines in Canada."

Along with Neeta Lulla, SAFW will be showcasing renowned international designers such as Monisha Jaising, who is one of the pioneers of the Indian fashion industry and the popular Shweta Bachan in Vancouver.

“This year we are focusing on diversity and being all inclusive. South Asian fashion is becoming more mainstream,” Farah Hasan says. “More than 400 models applied to work the runway in SAFW and 120 were selected. Most are from Canada, but some models are from as far away as Myanmar, Mexico and New York City.”

As part of SAFW’s mandate of showcasing all upcoming and local creatives, they have curated a space within Vancouver to bring together a variety of artists, poets, speakers, and visionaries to share their work and discuss high-interest fashion topics with phenomenal panelists. This Art Exhibit and Panel discussion is being held on March 20 at Lipont Place (4211 No. 3 Rd, Richmond, BC) as a prelude to the South Asian Fashion week.

Notable Participating Designers

Neeta Lulla                                                      Glam 5

Monisha Jaising                                              Kamal Sood

Shubika                                                          Luna Lilly

Shweta Bachan                                             Munish Kumar

Well Groomed                                               Silk Knot

Market Clothing                                             Perceive You

Armaan DBG                                                 Rony Walia

Charu Parashar                                             Punit Arora

For more information visit their Website: https://safw.ca/