Indian fashion hits Britain's supermarkets

Ready to eat Indian meals are a prominent offering in British stores, and now for the first time a leading supermarket chain is introducing a range of traditional Indian clothing in UK.

Asda, one of the largest supermarket chain, is introducing today a new collection of Indian clothes in 21 of its stores to coincide with celebrations to mark the end of Ramadan.

Indian clothes like salwar kameez, kurta-pyjama, jodhpuri, dupatta, churidar, dhoti, etc - will feature in Asda stores.

The new Asda collection has been devised in collaboration with designers in India and is made with Indian fabrics.

Asda said the new range has not been designed solely with Asian customers in mind, "it is anticipated the line will appeal to Western shoppers too".

The Indian clothes are part of the George line at Asda and prices start at 7 pounds, with a complete suit selling for 26 pounds.

Fiona Lambert, brand director of George, said: "We are extremely proud to be launching the UK's first mainstream range of traditional Asian clothing".

She added, "We have the broadest socio-demographic group of all the supermarkets and we wanted to offer affordable clothing suitable for all our customers."

Brianna Ragel, editor of Asian Woman magazine, said, "It is exciting to see a well known High Street retailer embracing ethnic cultures, and offering good quality authentic outfits at affordable prices.