Fashion has a long way to go

Everyone knows about my obsession with all things fashion. Vogue is my Bible and Anna Wintour is one of my idols. I keep up with the shows, trends, designers, etc. I have my favorites, as does everyone. Today, I was looking at the Menswear Spring 2011 looks from shows taking place in Milan. I can't speak for others but I never look at the models. For the most part runway models are just hangers, in my opinion. They are there to make the clothes shine and are therefore secondary. Ofcourse, I have my favorite models, too. But anyway, as I was looking through collections from Armani, Prada, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, I realized that there is very little color in the industry. And I don't understand why. There were a few black models, one or 2 Asians, and no Indians. The rest were white. There just isn't a good explanation for this. In an industry that claims designers from all over the world, it doesn't make sense that there is no diversity in the models. We have Marc Jacobs (USA), Giorgio Armani (Italy), Nicolas Ghesquiere (France), Prabal Gurung (Nepal), Bibhu Mohapatra (India), Dries van Noten (Belgium), Francisco Costa (Brazil), Alber Elbaz (Israel), Alexander McQueen (England), Carolina Herrera (Venezuela), and so many others. Even more ironic is the fact that when you look at the collections of today's designers, one can see the influence of the East. African prints, Indian jewelry, and Russian furs are all being modeled by the same white faces. Steps need to be taken by the so-called "foreign" designers themselves. Why won't an Italian company such as Armani use Italian models? There are gorgeous, talented models in India. Why are they not being considered for NY Fashion Week? It is unfair and disheartening that very little progress has been made in this issue. Lets hope that as the world races on, the fashion world isn't left behind.

Mommy Dearest

My mom's coming to visit me for a few days and I can't wait! To me, my parents = home. I am happiest and most comfortable with them. When I was 3 or 4, they moved to the States from India. I didn't go with them as they wanted to get settled first. Then due to visa conflicts, I didn't join them until years later, when I was almost 10. Maybe because of that separation, I'm abnormally close to them and it's very hard for me to be away from them. The first time I left home was last July when I moved to Miami. I thought I would be jumping with joy that I finally got what I wanted: freedom! To my surprise, I was calling them 4-5 times a day. I felt very incomplete and lonely. I had not known loneliness until I moved out of my parents' house. Ofcourse, I will always be their daughter and that will never change. But knowing that whenever I go home now, it is only to visit and I am, technically, only a guest is a thought that kills me whenever I'm reminded of it. It will never again be the same. Most people know that I never cry. I cried twice last year. Once was when Mom came to visit me in Miami; I cried when she left. So as much as I love having her around, it's infinitely harder when it's time for her to leave. Anyway, for now I will just enjoy her visit and not dwell on her leaving. So, this weekend, I will have two of my most favorite things with me: Mom and Mom's food!