How desigirlaesthetic Instagram account archives the best of South Asian fashion, beauty, history and Gen-Z culture

One glance at @desigirlaesthetic, a burgeoning Instagram account with nearly 60,000 followers, and you’re likely to be mesmerised – if not by the startling vintage portraits of Bollywood heroines from the 50s, then by the carefully curated colour scheme featuring the best of South Asian fashion— from florals and femininity. Rows of fuchsia, lavender, and marigold-yellow fill the grid, which is more akin to a museum archive than a modern-day social media page. The walls and architecture of Jaipur and Lahore appear, as do the iconic, aristocratic portraits of Raja Ravi Varma.

The account, a labour of love in the modern sense of the phrase, has been run by Anaum, a 21-year-old student, for over six years. The Gen-Z aficionado of South Asian culture and art began the page simply to “appreciate the beauty of South Asian women”. This was a significant decision in itself for a teenager growing up within a “sheltered Pakistani household” in a predominantly white town in Florida, America. During her teen years, she was witness to a string of South Asian millennials who harnessed the internet to reclaim cultural experiences and notions; the likes of Lilly Singh, Jusreign, Zayn Malik, and Rupi Kaur began to occupy space in the global cultural vessel. For so many young South Asians, these were the pioneers. “I clung to any semblance of representation I could find,” she says. “The remarkable strides taken in terms of the visibility of brown people since then are undeniable. Talented South Asian influencers and creatives will always be a source of inspiration for my own virtual presence, no doubt.”

This quest for representation and reclamation sits at the core of the mood board she has since created. And slowly, the core of the account evolved, metamorphosing from showcasing the fundamental aesthetics of the subcontinent to more fiercely and deliberately delving into facets of the diaspora, politics, and marginalised communities within South Asia.

“I broadened my page to serve a dual purpose,” Anaum explains to Vogue India in an interview. “[It] covers cultural myths, stereotypes and issues that both burden and embolden us, whilst also making time to appreciate all things South Asian, from Urdu poetry to Indian interior design.”

Now run with the help of her college friend, Sara, and her two sisters, Eimaan and Dua, @desigirlaesthetic sits at the intersection of mood board, diary, and scrapbook – while also holding the power of a Pinterest-like, digital energy. Architecting the page requires a lot of time “sifting through the archives of Pinterest, Flickr, Tumblr, and Twitter”, Anaum says, adding that she follows “some of the coolest brown people on the internet”. Followers and perusers can also “tag or DM” the page to request a feature, which has consequently created a community-led feed.

“My followers are the driving force behind my current content, which is sincerely focused on comprehending the vast diversity within the lived experiences of South Asians,” she says. “The page comes alive around Eid and Diwali, and it’s an immense honour to contribute to this wonderful sense of festive cultural solidarity.” Photo dumps of Desi women across the world attest to this. There are lehenga-clad mirror selfies taken during celebrations, pictures of mothers and grandmothers with flower-encrusted braids, and shots of mehendi-stained hands facing the sun. Everything about each visual is joyful, put forth for the sake of “exploration” and “empowerment”.

Still, the account and its owners are conscious of truth-telling and discourse: “One glance at my captions and you will see a hyper vulnerable, sarcastic and occasionally obnoxious brown girl, who jests way too much for her own sake and doesn’t shy away from politics or culturally stigmatized issues,” she says. In true Gen-Z fashion, her captions oscillate between cute, confessional, and politically charged: discussions about internalised racism and discrimination are undertaken as much as stories about romantic experiences and Hindi cinema are told in-between emojis. Comments mirror this, with followers laughing at said captions, sharing similar experiences, or simply admiring the range of South Asian beauty at the click of each arrow.

Instagram has long seen fashion archive accounts thriving, from @datewithversace to @chanel_archives, both of which boast hundreds of thousands of followers. But while these accounts serve as collages of the past and are often dedicated to singular designers, accounts like @desigirlaesthetics present a new intention. Here, history and modernity are equally highlighted: stills of Zeenat Aman from 1971’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna are interspersed with images of Gen-Z influencers. Photographic representations of traditional customs are presented, but so are pictures of young women sipping martinis in a sari. At the crux of the page sits a vision of solidarity and appreciation. “With @desigirlaesthetic, I’ve grown to realise that our existence is much bigger than “Desi Y2K” trends or “chai tea”, and “naan bread” discourses,” says Anaum. “I aim to show that our culture isn’t static. It’s alive and thriving, adapting to the changing times while preserving its essence.”

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