South Asian style, while rich with tradition, is constantly evolving, and designer Harleen Kaur Chhabra is at the forefront of it. Chhabra started her eponymous brand in 2017, creating Indo-Western clothing that spoke to a global audience. Now, seven years after the brand’s inception, the designer's work hit the runway for the first time at New York Bridal Fashion Week in October.
The show featured a hot pink runway shaped like an H, and brightly colored foliage framed the entrance. As guests arrived, a tabla player accompanied a DJ spinning Punjabi music. When the first models took to the catwalk, a Bollywood remix of Kelis’s Milkshake blasted through the speakers. Energy remained high over the next thirty minutes as designs featuring sequin embroidery, shimmering fabrics, asymmetrical silhouettes, and painted florals glided up and down the runway.
The goal for the latest Harleen Kaur collection was to embody a versatility that some South Asians struggle with, often resulting in the need to have two entirely separate wardrobes. “I wanted to be able to wear one of the crop tops from the collection with a pair of high-waisted pants to go out with my friends, but also be able to pair that same crop top with a skirt and go to my cousin’s wedding,” Chhabra tells Teen Vogue. With pieces that blend together seamlessly while still having the ability to be worn separately, the mix-and-match essence of the collection allows for a wardrobe that goes beyond a specific event or a few photos on Instagram.
Halfway through the show, which consisted of nearly fifty designs, fashion influencer, healthcare administrator, and LGBTQ advocate Sunny Singh Boparai strutted down the runway wearing a flowing floral skirt, a long white sherwani top, and a turban—a shift from a more rigid definition of womenswear and menswear.
Boparai and Chhabra first worked together when the former reached out, hoping to wear the brand in a photo shoot featuring a genderless representation of South Asian fashion. Now, when casting for her first runway show years after this initial collaboration, Chhabra knew that Sunny would do her designs justice. “It’s hard to come by people like Sunny who are so comfortable wearing something that can be seen as out of the norm.”
For Boparai, fashion is an especially powerful form of self-expression and identity. “I think it allows you to challenge traditional gender norms while also honoring your cultural heritage,” he says. “It lets me blend elements of my Sikh tradition with contemporary style so I can create a unique aesthetic that actually reflects my personality.” This blend of classic and modern is the quintessence of the Harleen Kaur brand and lies at the core of what the designer herself sought to create.
Boparai returned to the runway towards the end of the show. This time, outfitted in a sparkling sequin gold skirt underneath a black embroidered kurta top with an ultra-flattering vest silhouette. His walk is powerful, and he strides down the bright pink catwalk with a confidence that evokes a certain courage and fearlessness—one that even Sunny himself didn’t know he possessed. “I was really scared just seeing how many Sikh, turbaned men were around,” he admits. Growing up in a strict religious community meant that Sunny often faced difficulties expressing his identity due to heteronormative gender roles and toxic representations of masculinity that can manifest in traditional and conservative cultural spaces. Despite these experiences, Boparai believes in the true teachings of the Sikh faith, which he cites as a focus on equality, forgiveness, and service to others. Chhabra’s belief in him, though, changed everything.
“Harleen didn’t have to invite me to be a part of her show, but she chose to because she wanted to make a statement and she wanted to tell a story,” Boparai says. “Walking alongside the beautiful collective of models, the pieces I wore, it all told a more empowering story because it wasn’t something commonly seen in the Sikh community—we always see the hate and the negative rhetoric, but this fashion show celebrated my identity and all of the challenges I faced to get to this point.”
The impact of this work is already clear in the response to Boparai’s walk. Cheers and applause resounded for both looks worn by the model, and he was embraced during the show’s after-party (during which he was still donning his final runway look.) It was evident that, despite Boparai’s fears and past experiences, people in the room may be ready for change. “It’s time the Sikh community starts to make spaces for the trans- and gender-expansive folks. And if you want to talk about a fashion designer in the community that’s making a difference on this front, it’s Harleen Kaur,” he says.
When he’s not making waves in the world of South Asian fashion, Boparai spends his days dedicated to LGBTQ healthcare work in New York. When navigating the early days of building his career as an undergraduate student, Boparai knew that he didn’t just want to be a healthcare worker—he wanted to dedicate his career to supporting LGBTQ communities specifically, and he wasn’t afraid to disrupt the process. “My goal was to penetrate spaces. I wanted to make so much noise, loudly, obnoxiously, and I knew I was going to get there,” Boparai tells Teen Vogue.
After years of study and on-the-ground work in New York City healthcare systems, Boparai recently received his PhD in Healthcare Administration and Public Policy, having researched and created a framework for clinical and non-clinical best practices for care for transgender individuals. This dissertation, he says, was a love letter to the entire queer community. “This is for us because we don't really have a framework in healthcare that is specific to expansive gender identities. Creating something like this for a community that already experiences mistrust of healthcare professionals and fear in these settings will hopefully change perspectives and increase quality of life and access to healthcare spaces.”
Boparai's message is clear for young people who see themselves in his work. “Embrace your full identity unapologetically. Do not apologize for who you are, what your identity is, who you love, how you want to dress, how you want to show up in the world.” For queer youth of the Sikh faith, Sunny recommends resources like Queer Sikh Network and Desi Rainbow Parents and Allies, which are organizations that allow for cultural connection across sexuality and gender identity, reminding queer South Asians that they are not alone in their journeys. “Never forget that there is a vibrant community of people that are ready to celebrate you, welcome you, love you, and help you shine.”
