Indo-Western fusion

These pics of Nicole Richie have popped up on the Interwebs (here and here and here too) -- and though they don't really explain why she's holding a keyboard double the size of her body or wearing a salwar kameez, I'm intrigued.

Is this part of a publicity stunt? Is it a costume or is Richie trying to start a new trend? Will the "Punjabi dress" -- apparently so popular among travelers to the subcontinent that leering touts find a mere whisper of the phrase brings firangs calling -- make its way into the American cultural conscience?

I started thinking it would make a lot of sense once it became fashionable to wear dresses over jeans or slim black cigarette pants -- not such a far cry from the kurti combos so fashionable in India's metros.

Then again...grain of salt. Most of the sites commenting upon Richie's sartorial style said she was wearing a sari.

(Bonus points: Another gossip blog has pics of Aishwarya at Cannes. There's a fever for Indian fash!)