CFDA & Oushq Host Diwali Noir Party at The Standard

Following last year’s inaugural Diwali event held by the Council of Fashion Designers in America (CFDA) in partnership with retail platform Oushq, the two came together again on Thursday night for their “Diwali Noir” party held at Boom at the Standard.

Hosted by Jessel Taank, Oushq’s founder and chief executive officer, Pritika Swarup, Prakti Beauty’s founder and chief executive officer, alongside CFDA’s Marc Karimzadeh, guests included Jenna Lyons, Daniel Boulud, Bibhu Mohapatra, Ankur Jain, Carly Cushnie, Michelle Ochs, Roopal Patel, Rachel Roy, Ava Dash, Dhaval Bhanusali, Sami Miro, Micaela Erlanger, Azeezah Khan, Natalie De’Banco, Priya Shukla, Jay Sean, Akbar Hamid, Junaid Mahmood and more alongside Taank’s fellow cast members from “Real Housewives of New York,” Sai De Silva, Erika Hammond and Devyn Simone.

Timed to the celebration of the Festival of Lights, the evening also celebrated the relaunch of Oushq’s e-commerce website and the introduction of Oushq Outline as a destination for fashion, culture and designer discovery.

“This is a wonderful partnership that we have with Oushq — it really reflects the commitment that we both have to fostering meaningful cultural exchange and recognizing the influence of Indian craftsmanship on American fashion,” said Karimzadeh in his speech. “We celebrate the origins and heritage of Indian artistry, which you can see all across this room. We recognize how deeply this Indian craftsmanship already impacts Western fashion and encourage American designers to engage with it directly.”

Taank told WWD in an interview that some of the South Asian fashion designers on her radar include Dhruv Kapoor, who shows in Milan and “has amazing denim,” Hussain Rehar from Lahore, who’s shown in Paris and “is making waves,” Kanika Goyal, Shweta Kapur’s contemporary brand 431-88 and Kaabia and Sasha Grewal’s jewelry brand Outhouse.

“When we think of Indian fashion, it’s made for occasions and weddings and the Indian community,” said Taank. “There’s been such a shift away from that. People need to start paying attention because it is going to be the next frontier from a creative standpoint of what’s upcoming.”

For Swarup, partnering with the CFDA for the event is meaningful given the organization bringing Indian creatives to the U.S. and “integrating them into everyday and modern culture,” especially given people’s perception of Indian clothes being more so traditional — which is why the dress code of the event was Indian-inspired and modern dressing.

“We always want to make sure that everyone is given credit where credit’s due because that’s the one thing about major fashion houses that they have never done,” said Swarup.

The two said that they purposefully invited a slew of designers across various cultures to embrace the holiday to open India‘s culture to more people and be more inclusive.

“We wanted to put designers we love and deserve credit on the map. It’s hard for a lot of them to come to the U.S. or the U.K. and not have anyone advocating for them, propelling them or breaking through the noise. [On the RHONY], I’m very intentional about wearing Indian or Middle Eastern designers whenever I can — it’s a fun way to get their name out there,” concluded Taank.

Attendees danced the night away to DJ sets and music from Asad Khan, Raaginder (Mastaane) & Krish (TBOM). Event partners included Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Casamigos, Cadillac, The Standard and Fiji Water.