Fashion / NYFW & Beyond: 4 South Asian Female Fashion Designers Dominating Fashion Globally

NYFW & Beyond: 4 South Asian Female Fashion Designers Dominating Fashion Globally

Fashion Mar 19, 2025

by Devika Goberdhan | Features Editor - Fashion

Why only celebrate women on one day when we can do it all month long?! As part of our International Women’s Day festivities, we are recognizing South Asian fashion designers who have had fashion showcases at international fashion weeks. It’s truly an honour to be featured in an international fashion show as it represents a major milestone in a designer’s career. More than that, though, it provides them with global recognition, increases their credibility, expands the opportunity for cultural recognition, opens up their network, and much more. Needless to say, this opportunity is one to be extremely proud of and something that designers dream of!

As such, we are celebrating South Asian designers like Megha Rao, Aneeth Arora, Natharlea Yahampath, and Tasmit Afiyat Arny, who have been featured in international fashion shows. These ladies have led impressive careers, and it’s no surprise that they achieved this international milestone. To learn more about these fierce and fabulous female designers who are showcasing South Asian designs around the world, read on!

holiCHIC by Megha Rao

Megha Rao, founder and designer of holiCHIC, is from New York City. She co-founded the company in 2015 with Pooja Desai Shah. Megha modeled for 10 years before holiCHIC started, and it was born from the “…trips to India every summer. [She] grew fond of creating dresses from fabrics and treasures she would find in the market. Megha has learned to view fashion as a form of art and individuality. She now strives to extend this vision out to the world.” The brand focuses on bridging the gap between East and West, allowing South Asian culture to be preserved and creating clothing that represents multiple worlds and identities.

South Asian Women Designers Making Waves at International Fashion Weeks: Megha Rao and Pooja Desai Shah, co-founders of holiCHIC look fabulous at their first NYFW show! Photo Credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/CTxF4nXr473/ @holichicbymegha

holiCHIC has participated in New York Fashion Week (NYFW) twice, in 2021 and 2022, and during their first appearance, “…was one of the first South Asian brands included,” according to Urban Asian. Both appearances were tremendously exciting, but I loved the significance behind the 2022 show, where “the ‘Ma’ tribute collection…dedicated to founder Megha Rao’s mother, in the hopes of representing the bond of South Asian mothers and daughters” was debuted.

Aneeth Arora

If you don’t know the name Aneeth Arora or the brand Péro, you’ll be thanking me soon enough. Arora, an infamous designer from India, founded Péro in 2008, according to the Business of Fashion. Péro brings together “traditional Indian textiles with a western design sensibility,” and the materials used are a key point of focus as Arora “…go[es] to great lengths to make [the] fabrics” used.

Sustainability is another important aspect of this brand. In fact, Arora started a unique initiative, “…Péro Upcycle in 2015, a service in which Péro artisans breathe new life into clients’ clothing by applying embroidery and embellishments to them in the distinctive Péro style.” With ideas like these, it’s no wonder that Arora has won awards, such as the “…British Fashion Council ’s Young Fashion Entrepreneur Award 2011″ and “India’s Ministry Of Textiles’ Threads Of Excellence Award.“

Most recently, in 2024, on the 15th anniversary of Péro, Arora was asked to open Lakmé Fashion Week. Arora shared with The Print that she was elated to kick off the show “…in partnership with Fashion Design Council of India.” She also noted that the “…collection [was] very close to [her] heart as it [was] a celebration of our collective childhood nostalgia reinterpreted in our own quirky style.” Needless to say, there’s no stopping Péro!

Natharlea Yahampath

Natharlea Yahampath is a well-known Sri Lankan fashion designer who is widely recognized for her collections of handmade knitwear. Her latest collection was released last year in partnership with “…British entrepreneur Anila Preston, founder of British Alpaca Fashion, to create an exclusive line of high-end clothing made entirely from alpaca wool,” according to Daily Mirror.

I appreciate that she always has the interests of her fellow countrymates in mind as her latest collection of “…creating luxurious alpaca knitwear, crafted by Sri Lankan artisans, not only emphasizes the potential of the local crafts community but also demonstrates the opportunities for international collaborations.” In addition to the release of knitwear, 2024 was a busy year for Yahampath, who was “…appointed as the co-creative director of Lovi,” a fashion brand in Sri Lanka where she’ll be able to help grow the brand and its designs, notes Daily Mirror.

It’s no surprise that Yahampath scored this role, as she has an impressive resume, with her designs being showcased in multiple shows, including at the Spring/Summer 2022 Cracow Fashion Week. This particular show was focused on sustainability. Opportunity Sri Lanka reported that Yahampath, “inspired by the tallest tree and the brightest orchid in the Amazon rainforest and conscious of the ever increasing and damaging assaults on Mother Nature, her collection featured at the CFW 2022, was all about ecological preservation, re-generation, renewal and sustainability.” It was a truly impressive display of her talents, and I don’t think there’s any chance this designer will slow down anytime soon as she’s also pursuing her PhD in Design Engineering. And did I mention that she “…was recently honoured with the prestigious Sri Lankan Women Leader Award in 2024 by The World Women Leadership Congress,” according to Aod? Unreal!

Photo Credit: https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Sri-Lanka-shines-and-makes-mighty-splash-at-Cracow-Fashion-Week-2022-in-Poland/44-732625

Tasmit Afiyat Arny

Tasmit Afiyat Arny is a fashion designer from Bangladesh who founded Stride Fashionwear in 2013. She started off by only creating pieces for the stars, looking to celebrate special occasions. However, according to The Business Standard, “…the brand now releases capsule collections throughout the year, coinciding with major festivals and seasons” in addition to the more exclusive pieces they create for orders. Arny also strives to ensure that her pieces are affordable, pay homage to the “…local heritage,” and are sustainable.

Arny’s talents have gained recognition over the years. For example, “…in 2018…she was awarded in the prestigious ‘best national costume‘ category for conceptualising an awe-inspiring outfit for the Bangladesh representative at ‘Miss Landscape International.'” Then, in 2019, Arny was celebrated globally “…for her remarkable creation worn by Shirin Akter Shela during the final round of the Miss Universe pageant in Georgia.” The sari was stunning (obviously) and represented Bangladeshi culture on a world stage.

Most recently, in October 2024, Arny participated in her “…third international fashion show,” World Fashion Week, China, notes Prothom Alo. Being selected to participate in this fashion show is competitive as it “…featured designers from 90 countries, with only 10 unique designers chosen to participate in the fashion show, and Arny was one of them.” Her collection for the show includes materials that demonstrated “…the elegance and sustainability of Bangladeshi fashion on the global platform.”

In addition to being featured in the show, Arny has great things on the horizon as a result, including more people interested in purchasing her designs, investors, and “…a 10-year contract with…World Fashion Week, China…to expand the market for sustainable luxury fashion.” Her list of accomplishments just keeps going and it seems like things are only going to get better from this point on!

Main Image Photo Credit: @tasmit_arny

Devika Goberdhan | Features Editor - Fashion

Author

Devika (@goberdhan.devika) is an MA graduate who specialized in Political Science at York University. Her passion and research throughout her graduate studies pushed her to learn about and unpack hot button issues. Thus, since starting at ANOKHI in 2016, she has written extensively about many challe...

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