From Vancouver to Southall to New Jersey. How South Asian fashion has found new homes around the world, making it easier than ever to shop tradition with convenience.
For many in the diaspora, finding authentic Indian or South Asian ethnicwear outside India can feel like a mission. Yet, the world has responded: major shopping hubs from British Columbia to London to New Jersey now house thriving markets of saris, lehngas, kurtas, bridal wear, and more. These enclaves are not just retail spaces – they are cultural bridges, bringing the richness of South Asian craftsmanship to global communities.
Whether you’re shopping for a wedding, a festival, or everyday style, these international destinations provide access to pieces that would otherwise require flying back to South Asia, and that accessibility matters.
Where to Shop
British Columbia, Canada
Payal Business Centre, Surrey
Located at 128th Street and 82nd Avenue, Payal Business Centre is one of the most iconic shopping destinations for South Asian fashion in Canada. What started as a cluster of family-run boutiques has grown into a major hub that draws shoppers from all over the Lower Mainland and beyond. The experience is immersive from the moment you arrive: rows of bridal studios, lehenga boutiques, sari shops, jewellery showrooms, menswear stores, fabric specialists, and beauty services all sit side by side, making it possible to style an entire wedding weekend without ever leaving the complex.
Payal is beloved because it represents the evolution of the South Asian diaspora in British Columbia. Many long-standing businesses began with small storefronts and have now expanded into multi-level showrooms, carrying everything from traditional craftsmanship to contemporary designer pieces. Between fittings, you can stop for chaat, grab mithai, or browse shops offering handmade accessories and custom tailoring.
Punjabi Market (Little India), Vancouver
Vancouver’s Punjabi Market, often referred to as Little India, remains one of the most culturally significant South Asian districts in North America. Established in 1970 along Main Street between East 48th and 51st Avenues, it quickly became a cornerstone for Indo-Canadian businesses, drawing families from across the Lower Mainland for bridalwear, fabrics, jewelry, groceries, and mithai. At its peak, the market thrived with hundreds of South Asian–owned shops and became the first place outside South Asia to feature bilingual street signs in both English and Punjabi, marking a powerful moment of visibility for the community.
Today, although many long-standing retailers have migrated to Surrey as the population shifted eastward, Punjabi Market continues to hold its cultural place in the city. Several boutiques, fabric stores, and beloved sweet shops still operate along the corridor, serving as reminders of its legacy and offering a nostalgic shopping experience for traditional outfits and festive treats.
Ontario, Canada
Gerrard India Bazaar, Toronto
Also home to Chandan Fashion, the family run bridal shop famously known in Netflix’s docu-series Bollywed, Gerrard India Bazaar is one of Toronto’s oldest and most iconic South Asian cultural districts, a stretch that has been serving the community since the 1970s. Walking through Gerrard feels like stepping into a living timeline of the diaspora: vibrant storefronts selling traditional suits, sari shops filled with shimmering silks, jewellery stores showcasing 22k gold, and long-standing family-run businesses that have dressed generations.
While some newer boutiques and designers have shifted to Brampton or Surrey, the Bazaar still holds its charm, with staple clothing shops, sweet stores, and restaurants that keep its spirit alive. It’s a place where Bollywood posters, mithai counters, and bridal embroidery all coexist, offering a nostalgic, colourful snapshot of Toronto’s South Asian roots.
Brampton, Ontario
Brampton is one of the most vibrant Punjabi and South Asian cultural centres in Canada, and its fashion scene reflects that energy. The heart of it sits around Steeles Avenue and Hurontario, where plazas are lined with boutiques offering everything from everyday Punjabi suits to intricately embroidered bridal lehngas. You’ll also find jewellery stores, men’s sherwani shops, fabric merchants, and plenty of tailoring services that keep the community stitched together – literally.
Other key areas are Main Street, Queen Street, and Kennedy Rd where long-standing businesses have grown alongside newer designers and boutique studios catering to modern tastes. Brampton’s fashion landscape feels like a blend of homegrown tradition and contemporary flair, shaped by families who’ve been dressing the community for decades and new creatives bringing fresh silhouettes.
Southall, London, United Kingdom
The Broadway
Southall is often considered the beating heart of the Punjabi and broader South Asian diaspora in the UK. Its bustling Broadway is lined with bridal studios, sari emporiums, menswear tailors, jewellery houses, and fabric shops that have thrived for decades. Southall’s identity is deeply tied to migration stories – families who built businesses from the ground up, creating a hub that still defines South Asian fashion in London today.
You’ll find everything from traditional phulkari and chunni boutiques to modern Indo-Western designers, all within a few blocks. Sweet shops, street food vendors, and gold jewellers continue to anchor the community, making Southall both a shopping destination and a cultural landmark. Even as newer stores branch out to other parts of London, Southall remains the place where traditions, celebrations, and fashion all meet.
New Jersey, USA
Oak Tree Road (“Little India”)
Oak Tree Road, spanning Edison and Iselin, is widely known as the largest South Asian commercial hub in the United States. It’s a full cultural corridor filled with Indian and Pakistani boutiques, bridal showrooms, lehnga and sherwani specialists, sari houses, and everything needed for weddings, festivals, and day-to-day wear. The area has grown rapidly over the past two decades, attracting both legacy retailers and new designer-led boutiques offering modern silhouettes and custom pieces.
Beyond clothing, Oak Tree Road is famous for its mithai shops, street-style snacks, gold jewellers, and grocery markets, turning every visit into a sensory experience. Whether you’re shopping for a full bridal trousseau or grabbing jalebi between fittings, Oak Tree Road feels like a home away from home for the tri-state’s South Asian community.
California, USA
Little India, Artesia
California is home to some of the most vibrant South Asian fashion districts in the U.S., with Artesia (Little India) in particular standing out as a historic and cultural anchor. Centred along Pioneer Boulevard between 183rd and 188th streets, this stretch in Southern California hosts dozens of boutiques selling sarees, bridal lehngas, kurtas, sherwanis, and more.
Many boutiques are multi generational family businesses that have grown into multi story showrooms, carrying everything from everyday kurtis to fully custom bridal couture. Tailors here are known for their precision and quick turnaround times, which makes Artesia a go to destination during peak wedding season.
Fremont, California
Fremont has quietly grown into one of Northern California’s most reliable destinations for South Asian fashion. With one of the largest Indian populations in the United States, the city naturally developed a thriving ecosystem of boutiques, fabric stores, jewellery showrooms, and bridal ateliers that serve the Bay Area’s multicultural communities. While it may not have a single designated “Little India” district the way Artesia does, Fremont functions as a spread-out hub where nearly every essential element of Indian fashion can be found within a short drive on Fremont Blvd. Beyond retail, Fremont’s South Asian fashion landscape reflects the cultural rhythm of the Bay Area. The city regularly hosts bridal expos, designer pop ups, and festive markets that highlight the evolving tastes of the diaspora.
Australia
Australia’s South Asian fashion landscape is growing faster than ever, with vibrant pockets of Indian and Pakistani boutiques emerging across Sydney and Melbourne.
In Sydney, neighbourhoods like Auburn and Harris Park have become cultural hubs where shoppers can find everything from everyday salwar kameez sets to ornate bridal lehengas, often crafted with the same level of detail you’d expect in Delhi or Lahore.
Melbourne’s Dandenong area is home to its own “Little India,” a bustling stretch of sari shops, tailoring studios, jewelry stores, and fabric merchants that draw South Asian families from across Victoria.
For diaspora communities spread across Australia’s vast geography, the rise of these shopping districts offers something more meaningful than convenience: a direct link to culture, craftsmanship, and the joy of dressing for celebration.
Paris, France
In Paris, shops tucked into neighbourhoods such as La Chapelle and Strasbourg-Saint-Denis offer rich silk sarees, embroidered lehengas, and men’s sherwanis that echo the artistry of Indian couture while blending seamlessly into the city’s multicultural fabric. You may recognize the famous Original Indian Silk Palace & Saree Palace, the first Indian ethnic wear gallery in Europe.
Why This Expansion Matters
The global spread of South Asian clothing boutiques is more than just retail growth – it reflects a shift in how diaspora communities engage with their heritage. These outlets provide access to traditional craftsmanship without the cost and logistics of international shipping or travel.
Additionally, they support local economies owned by South Asians abroad. For shoppers, they offer a sense of belonging: places where the language, styles, and designs feel familiar, but where the experience is rooted in your local community.
The rise of South Asian fashion hubs outside of India is not just a retail trend. It is a cultural conversation. These spaces remind us that tradition can travel, grow, and adapt – and that as we build global communities, our style evolves too.
Wherever you are in the world, chances are there is a Little India waiting to become your shopping haven. For those of us who live far from South Asia, these places are a gift: a way to stay rooted, celebrated, and stylish.
Leave a Reply