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Anjali Modi
It's becoming something of an annual ritual to see a British politician's wife in a sari or something that claims to have been inspired by a sari. Now, it was the turn of Ffion Jenkins, the 30-year-old wife of Conservative leader William Hague. The event was the party to launch the Asian Rich List hosted by the Eastern Eye newspaper at London's Caf-E9 Royale.
Jenkins, known for her well-tailored clothes, cut a rather curious figure in a startling turquoise ensemble. But she did have the effect of focussing attention towards her, and it was not so much the men with the moolah as the lady in the lungi that caught the cameras fancy. Her costume was apparently inspired by things as varied as the sari and ``Indian architecture and art''. The description ran something like this: ``The turquoise sari, made out of pure silk, is a mixture of traditional Asian patterns cut in a high-fashion style, which reveals one shoulder. The silk has been hand-painted with gold Asian artwork. The dress will include the traditional shawl-style swept across the shoulder over a dramatic bodice.''
Despite the rather abundant usage of ``Asian'' and ``traditional'' in the description, there was a sense of a over-designed confusion in the A3400 outfit designed by Raishma Islam. Islam, 26, is said to be a freelance designer from the east end of London.
Conventional saris have, however, been worn with mildly greater success. Tony Blair's wife, Cherie Booth, has been seen in saris more than once. The first appearance was in finery borrowed from Swraj Paul's wife. Former Conservative MP Edwina Currie once made an appearance in a sari and looked rather comfortable in it. And Foreign Secretary Robin Cook's new wife Gaynor Reagan also showed up in one at an Asian bash last year looking rather uncomfortable.
Saris have even made an entrance into the House of Common's with Oona King, Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, turning up in a silk kantha sari for Prime Minister' Questions.
Last year, fashion writers ripped into the less than elegant figure that the fashion conscious Booth cut, in the A3800 heavy hand-embroidered designer ivory silk sari that hung on her precariously. Ffion Jenkin's choice of British Asian fashion clearly puts Booth's efforts in the shade. Her dramatic backless halter and multi-coloured gem stone-studded ``sari-dress'' will undoubtedly afford fashion writers greater opportunity for mirth. And, if Jenkin's choice of garment was intended to show-case British-Asian fashion, then it still has a long way to go.
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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