Khushnoor Verma: Boundary Pushing Fashion Stylist And Visual Creator
By Emma Conroy
Khushnoor Verma understands the balance of clothes being seen as costumes, fantasies, or the confidence you need to move through the day. She's an accomplished multi-hyphenate who has just completed her first year as a freelance stylist under her business name, KhushbyNoor. In this article, you'll understand her creative process and where she derives inspiration from.
What's the most exciting thing for you in your career?
I'm working with Jordyn Taylor, a long-time client, on some very new and exciting things. I hope to announce more soon, but we always create magic together. I'm also the creative director of a tea company! It's called CHAĀ, the Punjabi pronunciation of "Chai". I'm Punjabi, so there's a lot of heritage connected to what I'm doing with them. I met one of the founders, Viraj Borkar, by giving him a style tip. We're working on launching our first B2C product. The company's in full force, and we're just trying to prepare for what comes next.
Photo by Alizayuh
Can you give me more background on how you grew up?
I've been an artist since I was old enough to recognize my potential. My drawings would get awards, so I think the creative genes flowed from both sides of my parents. Looking through my aunt's sketches, which she drew as a designer in 1999, influenced me to attend design school.
I went to Kent State University and studied fashion design in 2017. I learned how to sew and understand a garment's construction from beginning to end. I graduated from my bedroom in India during the pandemic. When I returned to America, one of my first projects was creating a look for Stebin Ben, a Bollywood music artist. I entirely designed and constructed this piece. My next experience was working on a photo shoot set for an influencer named Dellara Gorijan. I was just there to handle the "behind the scenes" details. By the end of the shoot, she and I had made a real connection, and she's now one of my oldest styling clients.
I recently styled her for a conversation held in the White House about the potential widespread ban on TikTok. She stands for everything a powerful woman is, and representing that remains the priority when I'm styling her.
Afterward, I started working with other names, such as Brandon Blackwood and Luar. I've developed an index of clients, which has helped me establish myself in the fashion industry.
Talk to me about your styling process and how you source images.
I start with the end result by creating the sketches before the research is done. I then love to get on a call or meet in person to get a sense of my clients and their ideas. This helps me ideate, and then I go back into my notes. I write everything down, brainstorm for a while, and let the ideas grow.
Then I start gathering visual references. I'll review my notes and pull out keywords to attach to the references I discuss with the team or client. Once we're on the same page, I'll begin image sourcing from places like Vogue Runway or archival websites.
I also love scouting new talent via Instagram, FIT, Parsons, or anywhere else around the world. I'm friends with Albert Ayal, who runs Up Next Designer. We naturally became friends through working in the same industry and supporting the same causes. He has pages dedicated entirely to emerging designers. I Deserve Couture is another one of my favorite accounts. Hanan Besovic considers himself a homologist, speaking about fashion facts and creating refreshing fashion critic memes. There’s also my friend, Odunayo Ojo. He goes by Fashion Roadman on Instagram. He's a fantastic journalist based in London, and we've been friends for over four years.
There are a lot of body draping elements in your personal and editorial styling. What's the fascination in framing the body like that?
It's funny that you asked me about that because I only recently recognized that I do this subconsciously. I think it comes from my cultural background and understanding of dressing in India. I haven't personally done Indian dress yet, but it shows up in my work a lot. I recently created a Dune premiere look for my client, Erin Siebert, and I hand-draped the whole outfit for her. As a designer, I have a lot of fabric lying around. So if something is in my head and I don't have a piece to create that outfit, I'll just pick up the fabric and drape it.
Courtesy of Erin Siebert
Can you tell me more about your other forms of expression? What else do you have going on outside of all this?
Courtesy of Khushnoor Verma
I'm a realism artist who used to illustrate a lot until 2023. In 2021, I created a campaign illustration for Versace and Fendi based on their collaboration collection. Donatella Versace mentioned it in her Instagram story when it came out, so it's a moment I'm really proud of. This project confirmed my belief that everyone has their own vision; it's all about practicing and honing your abilities.
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In most cases, you can throw on your safety gear, plan a route into the wilderness, and set off to locations unknown, and in most cases, be back in time for tea!