A taste of Bollywood is heading for Birmingham from the New Delhi catwalks to brighten up one of the city's oldest shopping arcades.
The Asian designs with a western twist at Ethina in the Great Western Arcade are being showcased in Birmingham.
Fashion conscious entrepreneur Harprit Sall is flying in exclusive couture designs which are anything but traditional Asian wear from six internationally respected designers in New Delhi.
Instead of stocking traditional saris and bindis, Ethina houses colourful designer dresses, shawls and handbags which feature intricate embroideries and exotic prints.
The only other place in Europe such designs can be found are in Milan or Paris.
And just a week after opening her doors it's already proving a success with design conscious Brummies, as a massive 70 per cent of sales have been to Western women.
Mother-of-two Harprit, who lives in Handsworth with her 37-year-old husband Iqbal, who runs the local Sal Foods supermarket, said: "There is nothing really traditional in my shop. The style is very much Asian with a western twist.
"I've always believed that Asian designs can be worn by a much wider consumer base.
"It was a deliberate decision to come here rather than set up shop in a more traditional area and since opening around 70 per cent of interest has been from western customers."
The 31-year-old, whose has a six-year-old daughter Amnish, a pupil at Hallfields School, Edgbaston, and son Kieran, aged three, added: "All the designs are coming straight from the catwalk in New Delhi, a concept which is not available here in Birmingham, and these designs cannot be found anywhere else in the country.
"The scene out in New Delhi is so vibrant and I'm surprised no one else has thought of importing these designs before."
Stock is so limited that once a design is gone it is unlikely to reappear, even though Mrs Sall goes to India at least four times a year to buy up exclusive designs.
