London Brand Ahluwalia presents ‘Jalebi’ Virtual Exhibition For London Fashion Week

LVMH Prize 2020 Finalist, Priya Ahluwalia launched her namesake brand Ahluwalia in 2018. In March 2020, Ahluwalia was featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 European Arts and Culture list. 

Through her brand, “Ahluwalia”, Priya takes elements from her dual Indian-Nigerian heritage and London roots and explores the life of vintage and deadstock clothing, using textile techniques to give them new life. Ahluwalia photographs her own research which is an integral part to her design process. Ahluwalia is a brand that focuses on creating unique forward-thinking garments for the modern man, using responsible sourcing and manufacture techniques. 

Her often nostalgic collections look to community and history; for AW20, Ahluwalia looked deep into to the year 1965, the birth year of her step-dad. The designer is rooted in her background and culture exploring the different elements within those spheres within all her collections are artistic ventures. Another key feature of Ahluwalia’s work is location looking at locations such as Southall a location with an important background for the designer being Britains first Punjabi community and a place Ahluwalia could feel at home The images included in the book show the everyday  lives of the people in the area reflecting a sense of family 

 A key focus for the book is Southall, which was Britain’s first Punjabi community and somewhere that Ahluwalia regularly visited growing up. The various images showcase the everyday lives of people who live in the area illustrating the designer’s interest in the family experiences and showing others the everyday life of people from another culture. 

As part of her virtual showcase for London Fashion Week Ahluwalia has created her second book titled ‘Jalebi’. The book shows photographs taken by Laurence Ellis focusing on the different themes around her mixed heritage as a woman living in the UK.