What do PAYAL SINGHAL, MEGHA DESAI and KULSUM SHADAB WAHAB have in common? An itch to make the world a better place, one empowered woman at a time. AKANKSHA KAMATH finds out more
PAYAL SINGHAL X DESAI FOUNDATION
“Fashion is so much more than what you see on the runway. It is a livelihood,” says Payal Singhal of the 1,000-people workforce that smoothly runs her sprawling fashion label. “There are dyers, factory workers, weavers, fabric manufacturers—thousands of people are impacted by just one designer. Can you imagine how many people are affected by the fashion industry as a whole?” A baffling rhetorical question to which the designer’s riposte is teaming up with long-time client, friend and president of The Desai Foundation, Megha Desai. For Singhal and Desai, fashion has a mission— emancipating women one vocational programme at a time.
THE COLLECTION
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Talk of the town
It’s the new invite-only social app that launched bang in the middle of the pandemic and counts Drake, Oprah Winfrey and Virgil Abloh as fans. Paul Davison, the co-founder of Clubhouse, on what gets people talking.
Meet the romantics
Once upon a time, romanticism was seen as a weakness. Today, we know that embracing your feminine energy is empowering. Behind the joyful colours, delicate fabrics and whimsical details, these fi ve women channel a soft strength that is assertive without being aggressive. Malika Dalamal takes a closer look
In love and war
Can epic love stories stand the test of time? Do they even exist? Meet Raj and Norah, an Indian major and a British nurse, who were worlds apart until she rescued him in Naples and they found love in the midst of one of the darkest times in human history. Teir granddaughter, Shaina Kohli Russo, tells their story
Conscious coupling
Over the past decade, Simone Rocha has dressed and been inspired by strong women. Now, with an H&M collaboration with designs for men and children, her sartorial influence promises to grow manifold. Priyanka Khanna reports on a match made in fashion heaven
Life Is A Highway
An 80-square-foot van became the universe for a couple and their itinerant lifestyle. Shruthi Lapp speaks to Megha Mahindru about their moving love story
The State Of Love
What is love? It’s hard to pinpoint a defi nition to a feeling that encapsulates emotions of all kinds and brings together two souls. Yet, we attempted to ask you—2,801 of you—about what it means to find the one, or be the one, today
Question time
Is the ongoing pandemic putting your parenting skills to the test? Sheree Gomes Gupta brings in the experts to help navigate your child’s well-being through these difficult times
Girl, you got this
A doula’s dose of positivity, for when clouded thoughts need a ray of sunshine to cut through.
The mums are not alright
Between homeschooling, work from home and life in the age of COVID-19, anxiety levels are skyrocketing, especially among mothers. Journalist Priya Ramani, the mum of a 10-year-old, speaks to other working parents as they get real about the challenges and upsets of pandemic parenting
Skin deep
Booker-shortlisted author Avni Doshi is known for asking uncomfortable questions on motherhood. Here, she confronts the complexity of rejecting her mother’s biases, while not perpetuating her own
