In a flurry of black and white arranged around a core of vibrant colours, Ashish Soni offered a slice of youthful, contemporary India at the New York Fashion Week on September 11.
Showing his Spring 2006 line, Soni became the first India-based designer to make an appearance at the twice-a-year Manhattan carnival. His audience was impressed. Suzy Menkes, the fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune, said, "It was an extraordinary collection. I haven't seen anything like this from an Indian designer ever before. His creations had grace and modernity."
Soni's show - sponsored by the ministry of textiles, the ministry of tourism and Air-India in a package that amounts to "around US$ 200,000" - was more than just a show. It was actually
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The idea, said Tourism Minister Renuka Chowdhury before the show, is that the hundreds of international journalists at the fashion week would get to see a "younger, contemporary and more vibrant side to India". In keeping with that aim, Soni is now working on various other products, including T-shirts, which bear the Incredible India logo. His entourage of 25 (including several Indian models) will wear these T-shirts all through the Fashion Week.
Soni is not the only one to showcase India in the US these days. There is a long list of designers who showcased there collections. A night before his show, designer label Satya Paul did a fashion show at the Mariotte Marquis Hotel to raise funds for children's literacy. And a day before that, Sanjana Jon made her debut at a showing in Soho. 
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