The world of fashion is myriad and deep, but bubbling to the fore of the New York scene is a host of first generation Asian American designers who are doing much to bring a certain cultural touch of home to the world of haute couture. Having been raised outside of the country and immersed in a culture almost totally separate from their American audiences has brought both them and their clients some amazing concepts.

Amongst a rapidly rising crop of New York-based Asian American designers, including bold-faced names like Jason Wu, Alexander Wang and Phillip Lim, is a subset of design talents from the South Asian countries of India and Nepal, who, unlike their peers of Chinese and Taiwanese origin, are not the children, or grandchildren, of immigrants, but first generation immigrants themselves.

Prabal Gurung, winner of the 2011 CFDA Swarovski award for womenswear and a favourite of Michelle Obama, was raised in Kathmandu, Nepal. Bibhu Mohapatra, an Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation award-winner, hails from Odisha, a state on the east coast of India. (Read More)