CFDA and Oushq Bring Diwali Noir to New York, Spotlighting Indian Fashion
The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), the New York trade group for American designers, and Oushq, a retail platform for fashion, co-hosted a party called Diwali Noir at Boom at the Standard in New York. WWD reported the evening on 6 November 2026, describing it as a spotlight on Indian fashion and craftsmanship.
Diwali is the festival of lights, celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains. The party was hosted by Jessel Taank, founder and chief executive of Oushq, and Pritika Swarup, founder and chief executive of Prakti Beauty, a beauty company. Marc Karimzadeh of the CFDA co-hosted the event.
The evening also marked two launches for Oushq. It celebrated the relaunch of the company's e-commerce website, the online shop where customers buy directly from the retailer. It also introduced Oushq Outline, which the company presents as a destination for fashion, culture and designer discovery.
Guests included the former J.Crew creative director Jenna Lyons, the chef Daniel Boulud, the designers Bibhu Mohapatra and Rachel Roy, and the singer Jay Sean. Junaid Mahmood and Akbar Hamid also attended, according to photo listings from Getty Images. Taank wrote on Instagram that Diwali Noir celebrated the Oushq and CFDA partnership.
The party followed an inaugural Diwali event that the CFDA held with Oushq the year before. WWD described that gathering as an intimate cocktail and dinner in New York City, and Sai de Silva was among the guests. Vogue ran a slideshow on the event under the headline "The CFDA Welcomes Diwali to the Fashion Calendar."
The fashion calendar is the set of scheduled shows and events that brands and trade groups plan around each year. Diwali has now appeared on it twice, with the CFDA and Oushq as partners both times. The 2026 party put the spotlight on the work of Indian designers and craftspeople, and on the online shop that sells it.
