TOP SARI RETAILER BACKS HUNT FOR BRITISH BRIDAL SARI
A national competition for a British Bridal Sari gained extra sparkle this week as top retailer RCKC offered to make up three of the winning saris to go on display in a touring exhibition next spring.
“We’re delighted to back the contest,” says Amit Rastogi, managing director of the firm that specialises in Asian, Indian and ethnic haute couture. “It’s exciting to see how this has caught the public interest. We’d all like to see a vision of a bride in a sari with patterns reflecting lives and experience in this country. I’m eager to see the winner.”
The British Bridal Sari 2008 competition, staged by the cultural arts organisation Bridging Arts, is calling for people around the UK to design a sari with embroidery, embellishment and beading reflecting the hopes and experience of a British Asian bride.
The top cash prize is £250. On the panel of judges are the Lord Mayor of Leicester Manjula Sood, Baroness Flather, the first British Asian woman in the House of Lords, and haut couturier Roy Allen.
The closing date is 31 August 2008. “Some entries have already started to come in and we’ve heard that many more are on the way,” says Bridging Arts director Susan Roberts. “We’re expecting exciting and unconventional ideas – people can choose the fabric, colours and textures of their choice.”
The top entries will join the British Sari Story touring exhibition – a glorious display of traditional and contemporary saris which celebrates British Asian heritage and which will open at Charnwood Museum, in early October.
Entry to the competition is free. Competitors are asked to send in a 20cm (8 inch) square swatch with their designs. Entry forms can be downloaded from www.bridging-arts.com or by calling 020 8749 9010.
The British Sari Story national tour is funded by Arts Council England. The original exhibition was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and created by Bridging Arts.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
1. RCKC is a top name in Asian, Indian and Ethnic haute couture and is one of the most exclusive UK and India based fashion houses in the UK and India. It provides Indian fashion wear and exclusive Indian Bridal and Groom Wear. In London, it is based at The Atlip Centre, Ealing Road, Wembley HA0 4LW. Tel: 020 8902 5383.
2. Entry to the competition is free and open to all British residents. Entrants are asked to send in a swatch of fabric (about 20cm/8 inches square) decorated with their patterns, beading and embroidery. For more information about the national competition and the British Sari Story, email info@bridging-arts.com or call Susan Roberts on 0794 12 52 444 or 020 8749 9010.
3. Bridging Arts works with art, design and photography to give people without a voice a platform and the chance to speak out. Visit www.bridging-arts.com for more information or call Susan Roberts on 020 8749 9010 or 0794 12 52 444.
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