About
Diya focuses on examining fashion as a system shaped by cultural narratives, labour structures and market dynamics.
She analyses how authority is constructed within the industry, and how roles such as designer, maker and consumer are defined and valued.
Working across editorial, campaign and brand strategy, she uses storytelling to analyse and communicate these ideas. Her work explores how fashion reinforces or challenges existing systems and hierarchies.
Daara: The Training Collective
Daara is a women-centric training collective addressing the gap between skill and authorship among women weavers in India’s handloom sector.
While women artisans contribute significantly to production, they often lack access to design, decision-making and market visibility. Daara creates pathways for creative ownership by integrating weaving, design thinking and entrepreneurship through a hands-on training model.
The project expands into a broader ecosystem of products, experiences, a digital platform and a global marketing campaign that situates artisans’ work within contemporary fashion contexts and connects it to wider audiences.
These outputs enable direct market access while repositioning artisans as visible creators rather than anonymous producers. Operating as both a social and business framework, Daara uses fashion as a tool to build agency, independence and long-term economic value.
Daara’s debut campaign titled 'Where She Stands' brings this vision to life by centring the women as authors of their own narratives. The campaign explores ideas of presence, identity and ownership, positioning the garments as an extension of the women who create them.
Creative Direction: Diya Aratti
Photography & Videography: Lekha Rathnam
Styling: Shreya S
HMU: Anushruti Saha
Talents: Mansi V M, Daksha Raibagi
Ashley Chan
Nadiah Norzain
Yuvika Taneja
Jiao Hongying
Amanda Koh Shaopin
Monica Layardi
