Another surreal moment was meeting a BBC Radio presenter at the event, who I worked with on a radio show when I was 15. So it was so strange to bump into him here, 16 years later and see how far he's progressed (and gotten older too!)

I found that the Asians I was meeting and talking to, seemed quite different to the Asians I've met throughout everyday life (with some notable exceptions), in that they came across as far more professional, respectful, intellectual and interesting, but seemingly without passing judgement. This was fascinating to me, because it's clear that Asian creatives take a verbal beating from the South Asian community, but actually, these people are not bitter about that, they're warm, open and looking to raise up South Asians in general. I've met very few like this, and to me these people were just goals AF.

But aside from all that, the undoubted star of the show was my outfit. Off the shoulder dresses seemed to be the trend of the night, but I thought it'd be more memorable to go with something custom made. I already had the concept and vision clear in my mind, so I contacted Kizzy at Kyra Makes Things with my design and she worked her seamstress magic on it to bring it to life.

The concept is to reclaim the Urdu word Besharam, meaning "Shameless", which given the messages I was hearing on stage seemed incredibly apt.  This concept ties in really strongly with something I'm currently working on behind the scenes, and hope to be able to talk more about in the coming weeks. It's something close to my heart though, as I've been called this word Besharam all throughout my life by South Asians who just don't get that the younger generation might be different to them.

I wanted a floaty white kimono, with the Urdu script for Besharam cut out in holographic material and plastered on the back, and a silver slip underneath and Kizzy produced it exactly to spec, with high quality fabrics and stitching. If you have a design in mind for something custom, I'd definitely recommend reaching out to her for a quote, or even taking a look at her current range on her online store. Kizzy is a really experienced seamstress, and knows exactly what she's doing, even under tight deadlines, so you can trust her to deliver excellent work (as you can see!), so I was really grateful that she brought my design to life!

So yeah, what a night. But it's made me think about my place in the blogging community. I really love blogging, but I think that my future may lie away from it, and on to different and more exciting things. Oh, and on that note, keep your eyes peeled for news of my top secret project in the coming weeks..