Nothing Tastes as Sweet as Home
Review of Ahluwalla Spring 2025 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Homage to home, calling in community, decadent doilies
The question of home and belonging is becoming one which designers – especially those with backgrounds from other shores than their current base – are turning over again and again, as the answer is sometimes found in the tangible (family, friends) and the intangible (an emotional pull), with both offering a sense of comfort. According to todays show notes Priya Ahluwalia was leaning into the latter as it was conveyed that “The designer reimagines the concept of home, intertwining personal history with artistic expression to create a collection that resonates with one’s deepest longings.”
2024 has been a year of multiple elections and political change, redirecting the socio-economic outlook of counties from east to west. And the question of immigration is often used as a tool to divide. However, in the fashion industry the benefits of immigration have shown themselves to be a positive. Looking at the London fashion week calendar you will find the sons and daughters, second or third generation, of immigrants who have come to call London ‘Home’ – from Labrum’s Foday Dumbuya to Chet Lo, Harri’s Harikrishnan Keezhathil Surendran Pillai and Tolu Coker. “Home Sweet Home” in the case of this collection, which was the result of a trip to Jamaica for the designer which caused a “reflective examination of her Indian-Nigerian heritage and family home upon her return.” It also happened to be the result of observing how India had an “enduring pull” her own ‘nana’ even after 50 years.
For designers whose heritage is from another continent exploring identity is often a rite of passage and home can be found in family of course, but also friends and a chosen community. Both of which were evident at Ahluwalia’s show as her front was a who’s who of young black brits making their presence felt and leading a renaissance on the big and small screen. In an “homage to soulful ties between identity and home” the collection was one steeped in cultural nuance as no surface was left bereft of a graphic pattern – a marker of belonging which remains highly significant to communities from the Global South. Doilies – a common household item familiar to those who grew up in African, Caribbean, and Indian households – were re-purposed into asymmetric elegant tops for both her male and female customers and multi-coloured beads were used throughout but especially creative was a brushed knitted sweater with the embellishment used as an alternative fringing method.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
Ahluwalia is a designer who knows her customer and appeals to a community of fans who come to her for a reminder of home, today that was rendered in her 70s inspired graphic prints reminiscent of those which adorned her grandparents house, and mixed media construction techniques (“tailored suits [were] crafted from deadstock Chloe fabric”) in homage to the female seamstresses from ‘back home’. This was also one of the best examples yet of a collection whose clothes could walk straight from runway to retail. Ahluwahlia is a designer grounded and at home.
