Women Collection
Who we are
DEFY’NE goes beyond simply being a retail platform that houses individualistic, conscious and inclusive brands- it hopes to become a safe space for authentic and inclusive self expression that uses fashion and beauty as tools of empowerment in turn disrupting the narrative around fashion trends and societal beauty standards.
DEFY’NE also speaks of fashion and beauty in terms of emotions and personalities, believing that forging an emotional bond; is key to how we value them, invariably affecting the way in which we consume and discard too.
Women Collection
Note from the founder
My journey with DEFY’NE is rooted in my deep fascination with the often complex and nuanced relationship we share with our clothes. I learnt from history, that fashion is a force so powerful that it reflects the times we live in while also acting as an impetus-helping things move, starting revolutions and ushering in change. It is so strong that it speaks of our identities and aspirations within split seconds of meeting someone without ever having to use any words at all. Fashion and beauty contain the profound ability to trigger neurological responses by a simple choice of colour and texture affecting our wellbeing and health. Clothes, I learnt are a conduit for story telling. They help preserve memories that are seeped in culture and tradition, which shape a large part of our identities and the identities of our future generations; both individually and as a collective.
On the other hand, the deeper I delved, the starker was this unfortunate reality that over time, fashion and beauty have been stripped off of its power and instead been rebranded as a shallow, superficial peddler of soon to be obsolete trends. This switch from using fashion and beauty to authentically express ourselves versus being used by the fashion and beauty industry; has inherently changed the way in which we view, interact and most importantly how we value it. While it is heartening to see the needle shift towards sustainability and better choices that keep in mind ways to increase the physical durability of our clothes. I truly believe, in order to incite long lasting real changes we will also have to turn inward and find ways to form deeper emotional connections with them. For it is only then; will we fundamentally change the way in which we value our clothes, invariably affecting the way, we consume and discard them too.
The freedom to express oneself as one deems fit throughout one’s lifetime not marred by pre conceived notions, judgments and biases dictated by any other external force but oneself became the foundation on which DEFY’NE was created. I sincerely hope DEFY’NE proves to be a safe non judgemental space for this authentic self expression. A platform that helps forge deep emotional connections with our clothes. A community that propagates a sense of belonging and starts meaningful dialogues in the hope that we can put the power back in fashion and use it to cause revolutions, to heal, to usher in change, to explore our future aspirations and identities and to preserve memories soaked in culture.
Afshan Faridah Virani