ASHISH♥

Afternoon. Before I get on to the main part of the post about the wonderful designer Ashish, I'm going to put on my political voice and congratulate President Obama on the healthcare reform victory. I'm not American, but I have a very strong interest in international politics and I recognise this is a very important step in laying what Obama refers to as 'the foundation of the American dream'. Fashion and politics are two things which I personally believe are much closer together than society makes them out to be. They both can provide a great sense of liberation, and that is exactly why I'd like OH STYLE VANITY to be a blog which links them together and celebrates both fashion and political successes. Both have their critics and what one person considers to be true style or a good political acheivement may be perceived completely differently by someone else.

Anyway, intellectual lecture over! I'm choosing to write about Ashish today because of the huge impact that he had upon me at LFW last month. My personal view on him is that he is completely understated and not necessarily one of the mainstream designers that the general public have heard of. However, I love the fact that he is a bit of a dark horse and has so much respect from the big fashion industry. You'll never catch an outfit which isn't sequin-overload and doesn't have the power to make you subconsciously go "wow".

Ashish debuted his first collection in 2001 and has gone on from success to success ever since. He was born in Delhi, grew up in Toronto and is currently based in London (and it's clear that his cultured background influences the uniqueness of his designs). You've just got to love the slouchy, bold prints that Ashish is renowned for. He has previously stated that his main source of inspiration is the library and the type of women he aims to encapsulate within his collections are "fun-loving, sexy, with a sense of humour and like to make an entrance".

These fabulous hobo-gone-chic creations are just a snippet (well, quite a big snippet!) from what's to come in AW10 from the darling that is Ashish. I mean who else can turn what appears to be pyjamas into a serious fashion on-trend?