I swore by minimalism until maximalist jewellery changed my mind

“As a kid, even though I loved my culture, I pushed it away because I didn’t feel very connected to it, but seeing the way other desi people here embrace it really inspired me. Once I accepted that part of myself, it just kept coming out—and now, implementing my culture in my outfits has become a big part of my style,” says New York–based stylist Humza Syed. He regularly wears his hoodies and blazers with polki and sapphire necklaces paired with large kundan-set rings on his fingers. “What I love wearing more than anything is a nath. It’s become my staple piece.”

For Portugal-based Zahra Omarji, founder of slow-fashion brand Designation, Indian maximalist jewellery became a way to play. “I started experimenting after my wedding, I had all this jewellery
that I thought I’d never wear again.” Her pared-down wardrobe, intentionally curated to avoid overconsumption, serves as the perfect canvas for her heritage, with accents like an oxidised
silver choker with dangling beads and layered silver waist chains worn over an asymmetric white tank with a ruched midi skirt.

Blending South Asian and European fashion is by no means a novel idea. Neighbourhood aunties have worn their salwar kameez with Reebok sneakers since time immemorial. But Indo-Western fusion, the one on couture runways, worked off the similarities in the two cultures. You take the fluid drape of the sari, the ease of an evening gown and you have something new but still familiar. The ‘desi baddie’ aesthetic is based on contrast, a conscious subversion of expectations rooted in cultural pride. A meenakari hasli on a fitted tank top, paired with baggy blue jeans and embroidered juttis, should look out of place, but that element of surprise, the push and pull between cultures, is what makes it work. It’s ingenious, it’s loud, it’s perfect.

Blazer, STAPLE. Orbit Waltz skirt, KGL. Bar ring, Neemal ring, Third Eye ring, ROMA NARSHINGHANI. Shae ring, ANATINA. Pashmina hathphool, Chand Saaj gemstone choker, AMAMA. Boondi bead choker, ZIDDI.