HELLO! Exclusive: Rahul and Divya Mishra on how they're building a global fashion legacy

Pioneering couture with a cause, this couple, a powerhouse of design, is building their label one stitch at a time with much support—be it from their family or the community of karigars they’ve painstakingly built to buttress their brand. Opposite forces who come together in a bright spark, Rahul and Divya Mishra sit down with HELLO! to share their lives and love for each other, and their world of endless creativity.

While Divya Mishra gets comfortable before the camera, dressed in a shimmery black Rahul Mishra Couture gown, her hair straight down her back and bold red lips adding drama to ensemble, her husband is her biggest fan, taking photo after photo, video after video of his wife, making her grin even wider.

“Rahul isn’t an average fashion designer who just designs clothes. He’s extremely intelligent—one of the reasons that first attracted me to him,” shares Divya. “He’s a perfectionist. He won’t multitask on five things at a time. He’s the best mobiliser of thoughts.”

Rahul and Divya, the forces behind the Rahul Mishra Designs empire based in Noida but making a splash the world over, are high off the epic success of their recent showcase at Lakmé Fashion Week. That one shot of actor Janhvi Kapoor, their showstopper, strutting down the ramp with paparazzi frenzy around her became the defining moment of the entire week.

“We conceptualised it as a story; we wanted Janhvi to just be herself. It was all part of the act—her arriving in the car, acting like she was late for an event, the paparazzi thronging her, the air of a heroine and that very different walk…,” shares Rahul, twinning with Divya in black.

“The idea was, if she’s Janhvi Kapoor, she doesn’t need to try to be a model. She just needs to be herself… Her walk became the most viral moment of the entire week—even with the IPL on! In India, that’s saying something.”

Despite her now iconic swagger, the AFEW Rahul Mishra Fall/ Winter 2025 collection that they showcased didn’t take a backseat. Through the use of textile techniques and tailoring that’s unconventional for the runway, ‘The Silk Route’ explores the intersection of traditional craft and contemporary design, drawing a parallel between the evolution of India’s Bandhani alongside Japan’s shibori.

“We purposely made Janhvi a Bandhani dress with a sweetheart neckline,” says Rahul. “It’s an age-old textile, but not one you see on the ramp often… One of the hallmarks of Rahul Mishra Couture is tailoring; it’s recognised globally but often gets hidden behind all the beading and embroidery. So this time, we focussed on tailoring, like Bandhani pantsuits, that we had never done before.”

Be it Lakmé, India Couture Week, Paris or Milan, “the attention to detail, the attitude, the effort to improve ourselves” remains the same. And those familiar with Rahul and Divya’s shows can tell that they love to take risks. With designs, materials, silhouettes as well as the people who don their work for the ramp.

“I like to experiment with casting. At my earlier Paris shows, I had Coco Rocha, Agathe (one of the coolest DJs in Paris) and Miss Fame. I also had Jordan Roth, an old actor from Paris, in a bridal gown. For Paris, they are like superstars. Having people from different walks of life makes it inclusive and shows that fashion is for everybody.”

THE YIN TO HER YANG

Tracks like ‘Jimmy Jimmy’ from the movie Disco Dancer have the entire floor cheery and upbeat. At the centre of the buzz are Rahul and Divya, though she isn’t a fan of the attention.

“When we walk into a room and it’s packed, I know I won’t be able to entertain those many people. But if Rahul is around, I know I’m sorted,” says Divya.

Around the world, the brand’s colourful floral embroidery, the intricate designs often in striking gold, bring to mind Rahul Mishra the man, the designer. When asked whether it was a conscious decision that he remain the sole face of the label, and to have Divya operate more behind the scenes, “absolutely” comes her prompt response.

“Back in 2006, it was Rahul who debuted at Lakmé Fashion Week as a Gen-Next designer. I wasn’t around that time,” she explains, referring to her husband’s first career milestone, the one that placed him firmly on India’s couture map. “When I joined NID in June that year, I didn’t really know who he was. But when you join a college, you get to hear things about your seniors—Rahul was three years my senior—and you get inquisitive. Gen-Next was also a whole new concept that had enamoured colleges and students like us.”

As things got serious between the two of them, Rahul moved to Milan, having received a scholarship from the prestigious Istituto Marangoni. Two years later, they launched the brand together after Divya graduated in 2008.

“I have no interest in gossip, and my cousins used to call me boring. I prefer to just sit back and observe. Rahul, on the other hand, loves to talk!” Divya laughs about their diametrically opposed personalities.

“When you’re the face of the brand, you have to get involved with a lot of press. It takes up a lot of your time and energy. Running a fashion empire is like running an army—one captain has to be on the ground for all the action and one is the point of contact off the battleground.”

THE TWO-DECADE MILESTONE

Rahul was still in design school when he presented his first collection at LFW (“I was lucky to have started as early as I did”). His first collection was on Kerala handloom, a project for the state.

“Back then, there was a handloom crisis in the South, where everybody had gone from wearing lungis to denims. Handloom weavers required more jobs, and there was an excess of fabric. So when they asked me to repurpose these textiles, I created clothing like reversible garments, with a lot of upcycling, too,” he recalls.

For this prolific designer, working closely with weavers and his involvement with finding a solution for a societal problem laid the foundation of his design philosophy.

“That one month I spent with weavers defined the way we design and how we look at inclusivity in design. The success of the collection further cemented my belief. The whole purpose of designing became far more defined,” says Rahul. “Today, as a brand, instead of viewing consumption alone as the primary objective of design, we try to create an ecosystem that fosters participation and a community of karigars.”

DESIGNING WITH PURPOSE

Expanding from his earlier passion for handloom, Rahul began to include hand embroidery in his designs around 2013, back when he had entered in the Woolmark Prize challenge. For this push, he credits “this amazing karigar” named Afzal Zariwala.

“Afzal bhai was earlier based out of a slum in Mumbai, from where he crafted clothing for a number of top brands. But around 2013, we reverse migrated him back to his village, where he now has a team of around 200 karigars working for him. They all work together as a community.”

It’s not his international acclaim for embroidery that Rahul’s most proud of. It’s the fact that Afzal bhai sent his daughter to study economics in London two years ago.

“For me, the purpose of design is fulfilled when it can enable the next generation of karigars to choose for themselves, without necessarily taking the karigari route,” he says, beaming. “That’s how fashion can be used as such a powerful tool for the betterment of society; we don’t just create employment but also empowerment.”

“In couture, embroidery is a necessity because we need to take care of so many people. It upsets me to see machine embroidery even in designer clothes,” he adds. “Slower processes, especially processing by hand, should find their due space in couture. If not at the couture level, where else can hand embroidery be put to the best use?”

“Then there’s the poor pay problem. Karigars in India get paid not even Rs 300 a day—some even get as little as Rs 150 a day,” Rahul says, whipping out his phone to show us his research on the subject on ChatGPT. “We need to make sure craftspeople get paid fair wages. This is where designers can contribute to society.”

A TALE OF TWO LANGUAGES

While brand Rahul Mishra is what admirers aspire for, for the signature floral work, intricate embroidery, focus on societal impact and so much more, AFEW is the designer’s answer to affordable luxury, making his work accessible to a wider audience.

“For me, it’s the Rahul Mishra universe, and these are two different galaxies that are part of the same universe,” he shares an analogy. “Both are very labour-intensive and time-consuming products. So we try not to tell ourselves that this is one design language, or that this pattern belongs to AFEW. Both brands can have birds, but if Rahul Mishra gets a swan, then AFEW has a rooster to create a sense of playfulness.”

“There was a time when we wondered how one would see a Rahul Mishra outfit without embroidery. And that’s what we did with AFEW. There’s hardly any embroidery in our current collection… Then we wondered what we could do without colour or colourful flowers. ‘The Pale Blue Dot’ collection we showed in Paris was a result of that. It was completely devoid of colour.”

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS

From their approach to design to the warm environment they create at work (“we’re one big family,” says Divya)—not to mention Rahul’s repeated references to the Bhagavad Gita (“do your duty without thinking about the result”)—the couple’s spiritual leanings are evident, both in sync and bouncing responses off each other.

“Spirituality is very personal; that’s how we also connected all those years ago when we started dating,” Divya recalls.

“I don’t know about dictating,” she adds, glancing at her husband, “but when you live together for 17 years, things become very organic. There’s a routine, there’s decorum, there’s discipline… We’re definitely not like regular fashion people.”

“We are very boring,” Rahul interjects, cheekily. Divya ignores him. “I’ve learned so many things from him. Maybe he’s learned from me, too. You pick up on each other’s strengths.”

In the Mishra household, there’s one rule: no shop talk in front of their parents or daughter.

“We’ve reached a point in our career where we can regulate our home and work lives. There’s no anxiety over leaving home when we’re in office, or leaving work when at home,” she says. “We may discuss work while out on a walk, but never around folks at home. But it isn’t like we take no work back home; that’s the life of an entrepreneur.”

All this while, Rahul’s been listening intently with a smile on his face.

“She’s been praising me for the sake of this interview,” he quips. “But really, she’s our biggest strength. She’s always dead honest. She takes care of every fine detail within this community. Even when Afzal bhai needed to get his daughter’s visa for the UK sorted, he came to Divya, knowing she’d get it done. She’s the one-stop solution for everyone—both within the organisation and outside. At work, people value her a lot more than me!”

As lovable as they are, every couple, no exception, always has that one quality they’d like to change about their partner. “He leaves things lying around the house,” comes Divya’s “cliché” as she phrases it, making Rahul look sheepish.

“My non-cliché answer: he doesn’t give himself any quiet time. He’s always charged about what to do next; his mind’s always running, and he’s always browsing through his phone. I just want to send him to Vipassana! To observe that quietness and connect with himself,” she says.

“If Divya thinks I need Vipassana, perhaps I do!” Rahul adds, jovially.

“Divya… For somebody who takes care of everybody around her so much, she doesn’t take as much care of herself. Sometimes you have to let things go and not let it affect you so much. Like Aarna refusing to eat…”

The two light up at the mention of Aarna, their 9-year-old daughter. Do they see a creative spark in her already? Is she headed down the same artistic path?

“Aarna has a knack for music. She’s learning now. She can pick up a tune just by listening to something… She also sketches really well with pencils and colours and is very confident. She definitely has a flair for the arts and is extremely good at sports, too,” says Divya. “But we don’t tell her how good she is. We don’t want to pressure her into thinking she should do this or that… She’s free to become whoever she wants, be it a footballer, doctor, or a designer.”

All through the shoot, when he’s not watching Divya primp and preen for the camera or interacting with his team, Rahul’s on his phone, browsing through photos of his newly built sunlit home in the Almora-Ranikhet region of Uttarakhand.

“I’m a more passionate architect than a fashion designer,” Rahul reveals. “I built our house from scratch and was involved in every detail. It’s sunlit from every corner and its double-glazed glass facade keeps the place well insulated, which helps because it’s cold there 10 months of the year!”

Uttarakhand is also where Rahul has plans for his next ambitious project—a studio to enable reverse migration, “a safe space, a craft community that makes people want to come back and be taken care of.”

“I’m trying to chalk out a long-term plan for this space… After I built this house, I wanted to build the most beautiful creative studio that would take care of nature, people and community, while being completely off the grid. That’s the whole idea.”

Looking at the future, neither Rahul nor Divya are much concerned about business growth. To them, it’s a byproduct of all that they do.

“Yes, we’re growing really well, but all the growth, money and turnover are a result of us doing things right. A brand is an outcome of doing things right. So all of us, the whole team, want to make sure that every step is in the right direction. We’ll make mistakes along the way, but we still do everything with a lot of passion,” Rahul shares with finality. 

Photographs by Abhishek Verma

This piece originally appeared in the April-May’25 print edition of HELLO! India