What started as my ‘Fashion Futures’ ended up being the topic I dissected further in my self-devised dissertation project for the third and final year of my Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Communication & Promotion. ‍

Thus, I spent almost a year exploring different facets of culture in the fashion industry, studying the two sides of the same coin of appropriation and appreciation. This helped me to not only gain tremendous insight into the significance of culture in the fabric of society, but also to understand how fashion media plays a role in alienating consumers from their cultural backgrounds. And working on this topic for the majority of third year also helped me reconcile with my cultural identity while finding my true passion. ‍

While progressing forward with this topic, I was simultaneously going on a personal journey of reconciling with my cultural roots. Having fallen in love with the fashion industry at a very young age, I had often felt alienated from it because my Indian heritage wasn’t necessarily en vogue. Therefore, it also became important for me to speak on this topic without bias, using a tone of voice which forms a foundation of comfort, joy and familiarity. ‍

I believe that without the past there is no present, much less a future. So, incorporating all of this, and after months of extensive research, I created Fine Line – a platform to amplify and celebrate the beauty and voices of the world’s many cultural roots.