Diipa Büller-Khosla was getting ready to walk for Geisha Designs by Paras & Shalini at Lakme Fashion Week in partnership with FDCI, that was held in Mumbai recently, when The Telegraph caught up with her backstage. The ‘global Indian’, a fashion and beauty influencer, chatted with us on fashion, beauty and what she tells all the women she meets.
What do you enjoy about walking the ramp?
I think it’s the moment that time stands still for a second and you just get to be whoever you want to be. Everything goes like pin-drop silence and it’s you with the music in your elements. I find that very empowering!
This looks dramatic. Do you like a lot of drama in whatever you wear?
Not always. For my everyday look, I am minimalistic and then once in a while, I do love drama.
Tell us about the make-up...
Everything is inspired by the Garden of Eden, mystical, kind of mythical creatures, nymphs and fairies.
Has your fashion changed over the years?
My fashion has indeed changed. If I were to look at photos of myself as a teenager to when I was in my 20s to today, it has definitely evolved. I feel like I do take a lot more risks now because I am confident in who I am and at the same time, I love comfort as well. So, yeah, it’s about comfortable-chic and then once in a while, risk-taking and daring outfits.
You also launched Inde Wild, your skincare brand that draws from Ayurveda. What led to it?
The mission with Inde Wild, my brand, is really to take Indian beauty to the world. For so long, we have had Korean and Japanese beauty and we have Ayurveda which is 5,000 years old in our country. The mission is to take that and show to the world how much we have and at the same time breaking beauty standards of whitening creams, that people need to look a certain way to be beautiful. Today, probably I am the shortest person walking the runway, but I own it. The whole brand is about just who you are.
I suffered with acne for 12-15 years and even adult acne at one point and finally it got cured with the combination of Ayurveda and modern dermatology. I thought this is a potent combination of really going deep into our roots of what works on the Indian skin and combining it with innovative technology and science and cutting-edge dermatology and putting them together. I wanted to bring that to the other girls who were struggling with the same issues.
Indian and South Asian skin has a few issues like pigmentation and acne scarring combined with the fact that we live in hot, humid climate and there are so many things that are very us. I wanted to make a brand that’s very much for that. Instead of being a brand that is all-size-fits-all, this is a brand focused on us, especially.
Ayurveda changed your life...
It really did. It made me think in a holistic way. What are you doing about stress, nutrition and food? Science has shown that when you meditate 20 minutes a day, your brain is able to cope with the hardships of life more and your pituitary glands help reduce stress because of meditation and yoga. There is undeniable evidence from all sides... faith, spirituality, science. Why wouldn’t you?
Given you meet so many more people, has that changed your perception of beauty and how women see beauty?
A hundred per cent. I find in every culture and country, women look at beauty slightly differently, like in the West being tanned and dark is so beautiful while in India, as we know, the standard is very different (laughs). I think what that’s made me do is truly appreciate all kinds of beauty. If you are a confident, happy woman, you will look beautiful no matter what. That’s what we want to instill in the next generation of women. Everything external is great, maintain it and enjoy it, but the internal mindsets are so much more important.
What do you tell most women you meet?
I tell them to dare to dream big and never take ‘no’ for an answer.
What are your future plans?
Build a beauty empire and raise Dua (daughter) as well as I can. Perhaps more family growth and to truly enjoy everything that I am doing, the journey and not just keep looking at what the end goal is but really enjoy with friends and family and enjoy every day.
Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Amal Clooney
Diipa’s fave women...
My mother
Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Falguni Nayar
Amal Clooney
I find in every culture and country, women look at beauty slightly differently, like in the West being tanned and dark is so beautiful while in India, as we know, the standard is very different (laughs). I think what that’s made me do is truly appreciate all kinds of beauty. If you are a confident, happy woman, you will look beautiful no matter what. That’s what we want to instill in the next generation of women. Everything external is great, maintain it and enjoy it, but the internal mindsets are so much more important — Diipa Büller-Khosla