4WALLS | the atelier journal

4WALLS
PHOTOBOOK*

For this project, I wanted to explore an issue I’ve become deeply passionate about in my personal life: the cultural appropriation of South Asian fashion.

Seeing cultural garments and craftsmanship repackaged as the “latest season” in luxury fashion left a bitter taste in my mouth. The frequent lack of recognition for South Asian artisans and communities reflects a much larger and more nuanced issue — cultural fashion is often celebrated only after it has been westernized, stripped of context, or filtered through an orientalist lens.

I'm passionate about championing South Asian fashion and wanted to use this project as an opportunity to bridge appropriation and appreciation.

PHOTOBOOK 2026

4Walls Photobook aims to tackle cultural appropriation in South Asian fashion by rewriting negative visual stereotypes and bridging appreciation and appropriation.

As a young South Asian creative in fashion, I've often felt that popular south asian visuals and concepts are stereotypical and reductive. As I spoke to my peers, feelings of resentment and difficulty placing oneself in the industry began to brew amid the rise of cultural appropriation.

This photobook is a culmination of my peers' and mine experiences to produce visuals that felt contemporary and authentic, and not pigeonhole into what the West thinks South Asian fashion is.

This photobook is for the girls wearing their jhumkas with their going-out tops, their kurtis with jeans, and dupattas with tank tops; the south asian visuals I have grown up with.

By collaborating with amazing South Asian designers whose contemporary designs are rooted in their heritage, I brought this sentiment to life.