Why Diya Joukani Is More Than Just "That Cool Girl From India"
From Kenzo to the world, Hypebae steps inside Diya’s duniya.
If you’ve been online at all in the last few months, you’ll likely be familiar with India’s buzziest new designer, Diya Joukani. Her first-ever video went viral, which led to about a thousand more, and she’s since become known online as “that cool girl from India.” But honestly, she’s so much more than that.
A self-taught, former stylist who quit her job overnight and now designs for her own label, DIYADIYA, Joukani’s trajectory is anything but linear. From the beginning, she knew her talent was somewhat wasted in working for someone else, and thanks to her self-proclaimed delusion, she knew that whatever she did on her own was going to work out.
Alongside designing the clothing she wanted to see, she’s indirectly spotlighted the bustling community around her, which, for those who don’t know, is actively made up of her own tailors, friends and family members.
As Joukani’s career continues to blow up in the best way, we managed to pin her down for a conversation about her journey so far, her desire to preserve traditional craftsmanship and how she plans to bring New York Fashion Week to the streets of Bandra.
Read on for the full interview.
How did you become a designer? Was that always your aim?
It definitely wasn’t always my aim. I always had a love of clothes from when I was really young, and style was always a big part of my life. I actually used to be a stylist, but it really wasn’t cutting it for me. I was really struggling in the styling and creative zone, and then I realized I wanted to make a specific kind of clothing I had never seen before. I used to wear the same kind of silhouettes that I wear now, but without all the embroidery and traditional elements. I thought, “What if I fused these two worlds?” which I know people have done before, obviously, but not in the exact way that I imagined it. So I quit my job overnight and said, “This is what we’re doing now.”
When you say you quit your job, were you styling at the time and left that to go straight into this?
I was styling for some low-key Bollywood people, and I also used to work at Kenzo. I was working retail at Kenzo, and then I was just like, I can’t do this anymore. I felt like I was a waste of potential; that’s really what it was. I just felt like I really needed to do something. I wanted to make clothes that the world hadn’t seen before, and that’s how I got started.
How did you transition from styling to having the specific experience with designing, like pattern cutting and all of those technical skills?
I’ve always been very artistic and good with my hands. I actually made my first jacket in July, and I quit my job in December. It was a few months where I practiced, but I genuinely learned pattern making and all of this stuff from YouTube. Then I found a Masterji in Bandra, and he just taught me pretty much everything I know.
View this post on Instagram
How do your surroundings in Bandra influence your design and creative process?
I was born and raised in Bandra, so everything I see around me is a direct influence. It’s a very visually stimulating place, and my references are very literal. Last month, I posted a video of what we do here, called Dahi Handi, where we make a pyramid and get Dahi that’s suspended up in the air. So I made a jacket with a pyramid on it. A while ago, I went to Jaipur, and I saw some peacocks, and then made a peacock jacket. In Bandra, we have lots of art on the walls, and there’s lots of fabric everywhere, so I quite literally take visual references and put them into my clothing.
I love the sound of things being a bit more literal because in this industry, you read press releases all the time from huge designers, and it’s just so many words that don’t mean anything…
It will be like, “the intersection of something and interplay and memory,” and it’s just like, just what is the collection about? For me, it’s: I see peacock, I make peacock, but with Indian traditional elements and using all the techniques. I put it on denim, and there, that’s what you get.
What’s the timeline between you having that idea and then actually making it?
Less than a week, honestly. I’ll come up with the idea, and I’ll sketch it out as soon as I have it. First of all, I’ll create a note in my phone. When I have a minute when I’m chilling, I’ll sketch it out. Then I’ll take it to my studio, and I’ll tell the team, and they’ll give me very constructive criticism, which I will very much ignore. Then I make the Khaka, so I actually sketch the embroidery very intricately onto a big sheet of plastic paper. Then I figure out the pattern cutting.
I cut a pattern, and I make my Masterji cut a pattern, and then we both come back to each other and figure it out. Then we put the plastic sheet onto the denim so the embroidery prints on the denim. All of my embroidery is done with micro-Khatanas and beads. There are 300,000 to 500,000 beads on a single piece, so that takes like three to five days. Then stitching it is like one day, buttoning takes like half a day, and then you’re done.
Do you see yourself at some point doing a seasonal approach to collections, or do you think it’s at least for now going to be, “I have this idea, I want to make it”?
My lucky numbers are 8 and 18, and I’m trying to drop a collection on the 8th and 18th of every single month because that’s what I like to do, and I come up with ideas so quickly. I’ve been really stressed this month because I haven’t managed to do it, and when I have an idea, and I can’t execute it, I just go crazy.
We can’t not talk about social media and video content. You’ve become so known for creating those videos. How did that start?
I knew I had to create a brand in 2026 when the industry is already so saturated, and I just don’t think there’s a better way to do that than putting out authentic content rather than super heavily edited stuff. I was just like, “How can I show my city in the best light possible and put my clothes into the most authentic real setting?” What you see in my videos is literally what’s happening outside in the street. I put on an outfit every morning, and then my days are always insane—running from fabric markets to tailors to my studio. Whatever I see in the middle, I quickly film it, and at the end of the day, I put it all together and I post it.
Nobody necessarily plans to go viral, but how do you feel about that as a concept?
I’m very delusional, and I get what I want. I knew if I was going to do this, I was going to go all out. I was just like, “This is what I need to do,” and it got done. I’m really happy that everyone’s here, though.
View this post on Instagram
Obviously, the community in Bandra fits into a lot of the content that you make. How does that work—is it a conversation that you have? Are they people that you genuinely work with?
Nobody really knows this, but the people in my videos are people that I see every single day. A lot of the people in my videos are my tailors. Everyone in my video is someone I know, and it’s always just people asking to be in my videos. We just bang it out; it’s very spontaneous. And I really want to put out there that every single person in my videos is paid.
I feel like it’s easy for people to make judgments because you don’t speak on the internet. Is that a conscious decision?
I just don’t feel like I have anything to say. I feel like the art speaks for itself. If I’m putting the clothes out there in the most authentic way possible, what else is left to say?
And your tailors and the team, how do they feel about being in social content?
They are my biggest supporters. Sometimes I’ll ask one of them to be in the video, and then the other one will get like, “Oh, but I want to be in it too.” They all love it, and they all post them and show me like, “Oh my god, look at this person.” It’s really cute.
What about family? Does your family get involved?
My dad films a lot of my videos. My dad is behind the camera a lot of the time. It’s either my dad or one of my tailors. Whoever is filming my videos is running backwards into traffic. I will hold a phone and act it out before, and then they do it. Reality is, most of the time I only have one take. My dad does this thing, though, where he’ll be recording the video, and he’ll be like, “Yeah, we got it,” and then later, when I go to edit, I see the man didn’t even click the red button!
In the last few years, it feels like we’ve seen a lot more appropriation when it comes to bigger Western brands. How do you think that Indian techniques and designs can be preserved?
I think the inspiration’s always been there, but honestly, they’re kind of late. I think taking inspiration is fine, but it’s more about the context and the crediting. They don’t show where they’re getting their reference from; they just release some random thing. If you’re going to do something, make it meaningful, make it impactful.
I feel like whenever we see Indian designs these days, both in India and in the West, it’s very nostalgic, and it’s almost like a costume in a way. I feel like the best way is to take the best parts of our culture—the techniques, the embroidery, the patterns, the fabric—and put them into a more contemporary setting. When are people really wearing Indian clothing? It’s when they’re going to weddings and traditional events. No one’s really wearing it every day. So it’s like, how do we get everyone to do that? And I think the best way is to take those techniques and put them into everyday clothes.
In terms of your brand specifically, what do you think is next?
It’s been an insane year. I feel like I established a global brand from the ground up within a matter of months. But now it’s about really taking it and giving it a physical experience. I want to have runways all over the world, but the main thing I want is for New York Fashion Week or Paris Fashion Week to happen in Bombay. And it’s not just about my brand, it’s about creating a whole scene. Everyone is so separated. I just want to bring everyone together and show that we can all win. There’s enough space for everyone.
View this post on Instagram
It feels like back in the day, the goal was to be recognized by Western entities. It’s never really been the idea that we want to bring that here instead of trying to go there.
I’m going to take it all over the world, but the main goal is to have everyone come here for the same hype you guys have for the Western cities. We’ve already got the talent here, we’ve got the people, we’ve got the culture, we’ve got the community, everyone’s fly.
Outside of the brand specifically, any future goals?
I’ll probably grow my hair longer. It’s past my waist now, but maybe it’ll get to knee-length. Outside of that, I just want Diya Joukani to just grow and grow and grow. And then outside of that, I just want to be chilling on a beach. I like to relax. Long hair and chilling on a beach, those are the two things. And maybe drop a mixtape in the middle…
