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‘The Asian Man’ is a groundbreaking photobook by filmmaker and creative director Aaron Christian, reframing the visibility and influence of South Asian men in global fashion. Through more than 200 pages of portraits, Christian captures community, self-expression, and diasporic identity with nuance and pride. Launching as ‘The Asian Man: Volume One’, this limited-edition, 240-page A5 hardback is entirely community-funded, with only 100 copies printed in the initial run.
For decades, global fashion has borrowed from South Asia’s rich textile and aesthetic traditions while neglecting the men from these cultures. Brown masculinity has often been reduced to stereotypes at the margin — practical, conservative, and unadorned. With ‘The Asian Man: Volume One’, filmmaker and photographer Aaron Christian is trying to reframe this narrative. His upcoming photobook highlights that South Asian men have long influenced culture; only now, they are taking the centre stage too.
Christian’s project started over ten years ago as a Tumblr page and grew into a lively Instagram community. The driving force was the lack of South Asian representation on major fashion platforms. He aimed to create a space where stylish South Asian men are seen not as exceptions but as the standard — representing a cultural influence characterised by diversity, agency, and a strong presence.
Over more than 200 pages, Christian’s portraits highlight the various ways South Asian men express their identity through fashion. His subjects range from master tailors and sneaker enthusiasts to stylists, musicians, and digital creators, broadening the definition of modern South Asian masculinity. The book features subtle confidence, daring experimentation, and a blend of tradition and modernity: heirloom jewellery paired with streetwear, sherwani silhouettes combined with denim, and colours grounded in heritage but confidently worn.
In his foreword, 'Business of Fashion' founder Imran Amed underscores why this work feels urgent. There was a time, he writes, when “style” and “South Asian men” were rarely uttered together within the fashion establishment. This book documents the turning of that tide — the rise of a generation unwilling to be invisible.
Christian, raised in East London in a Malaysian–South Indian–Sri Lankan Catholic household, threads his own diasporic story into the work. Style, in his hands, is not superficial — it is a site of self-definition and cultural continuity. Visibility in fashion, he argues, drives visibility everywhere.
‘The Asian Man: Volume One’ is the first-ever print edition of the project. Four years in the making, it is a limited-edition 240-page A5 hardback funded entirely by the community that built this movement. Only 100 copies will be printed in the first run — the first 50 will be signed and numbered with a mini print, while the remaining 50 will be available at launch or online afterwards.
Follow The Asian Man here.
If you enjoyed reading this, here’s more from Homegrown:
Khanijo Is A Delhi-Based Label Bringing Gender Fluidity & Vintage Flair To Men's Fashion
‘The Asian Man’ Redefines Homegrown Men's Aesthetics Through Thoughtful Representation
Symbolism, Masculinity, & Identity: Tracing The Evolution Of Men's Jewellery In India
