Michelle Obama, US presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s wife, was spotted recently wearing an abstract patterned black-and-red kimono-inspired dress at the Democratic convention. That outfit was designed by Thailand-born Thakoon Panichgul.

Some time ago, another Thai designer, Disaya Sorakraikitikul, received similar honour when Amy Winehouse was featured in the cover of her best selling album, Back to Black, donning a dress designed by her.

Then there is Zhang Zhifeng of China, who was chosen by the prince of Denmark to make an evening gown for his fiancé. And there are designers like Tae Ashida of Japan, who are silently wooing European customers in France.

Being a factory to the world, Asians have long seen Western customers draped in clothes made in Asia. But this time around Asians are actually beginning to see Asians designing clothes for Westerners.

However, this is not the first time Asians are rising in the global fashion scene. A similar trend was seen in the beginning of 1980s when Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake generated a wave of what was known as ‘avant-garde fashion’. The only difference between then and now is: In the ‘80s it was only Japanese designers who were representing Asians while this time designers from all across China, India, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia are sharing the stage.

The recently held New York Fashion Week can be used as a gauge to measure the success gained by Asians designers in the West, where more than one-fifth of the designers were either Asians or Asian Americans. Another example can be prestigious events like Paris Fashion Week, which is being penetrated by more and more Chinese, Indians, Thais and Japanese.

Mike Wu, fashion director of Singapore’s BY3 Design, cites globalisation in fashion trends as the main reason for the sudden rise of Asian fashion designers in the West.

With the world becoming a global village, "the cultural gap between the East and the West is narrowing down significantly", he tells AsiaNews on the sidelines of the Asian Fashion Federation (AFF) Conference in Bangkok. "This is also narrowing down differences in styles and looks in two parts of the world."

As a result, the line between Asian and Western design is beginning to blur making it easier for Asian designers to navigate their way into the Western fashion market.

Another reason for the success of Asian designers in the West is the backing they have received from the domestic customers.

Take Singaporean designer Ben Wu for instance, who never thought he would be selling his collection in the US when he first started merchandising fashion goods in late 1990s. "At that time I was just pursuing my passion but along the way I also saw this huge demand for fashion wear," the interior designer turned fashion designer says.

This motivated Ben to launch his own brand. And in 2003 he introduced Tian, a retail label in women’s wear. Since 2006 he has been exporting his collection to US cities such as New York, Florida and Texas. "Had my own people not bought my costumes, I wouldn’t have been in this business," adds Ben, who recently displayed his collection at the Bangkok International Fashion Fair.

What Ben was also trying to point out was the rising income levels of Asians which is boosting their purchasing capacity. With more money in their wallets, Asians are now blinded by consumerism and they no longer see clothes as something that only covers the body. Costumes, to them now, are license to define their identity and status symbol, and they no longer hesitate to pay for it. This consumer revolution, in turn, is encouraging fashion designers to break the boundaries and come up with daring styles.

Daichi Shiraki, a 26-year-old Japanese fashion designer, agrees that the rising demand in the domestic market is helping fashion designers like him to be more innovative.

"Today my customers (in Japan) don’t care where the apparel comes from and they don’t only look for Western brands as long as the outfits catch their imagination. This was not the case six years ago," says Shiraki, who has been exporting his label, Boisnonverni, to Russian market. "This is giving designers like me a leeway to experiment more."

All these suggest that Asian designers are being accepted worldwide. And along with Asian designers, Asian designs and styles are also slowly gaining acceptance. This is probably one of the reasons why Americans and Europeans are now being seen in South Asian salwar kameez or Southeast Asian silk sarong or reinvented versions of East Asian kimono. And with renowned Western brands like Balenciaga and Hermes designing outfits with Chinese and Indian prints, a day might come when there will be no such thing as Eastern or Western style.

Says David Wang, AFF Singapore chairman: "It is only a matter of time before Asia evolves into a trend setter on par with the fashion capitals of the world."