fashion

Growing up just outside of Boston, Aanya Sachdeva started her design career early. Really early. The fashion design major was around seven when she began transforming old clothes into custom outfits for her American Girl dolls.

“What started as a quick and fun hobby turned into a real passion for me,” she tells Glamour. “I began creating one-of-a-kind pieces for friends and family and learning how to express myself through design.”

Then, at 11, came another formative moment: At a presentation by pediatric cancer charity Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, Sachdeva heard a girl her age speak about having cancer. “That really shook me,” Sachdeva says. “I felt this strong urge to help.” And so, her first brand—Aanya’s BOWtique, a line of handmade hair bows—was born. She sold her custom creations at local fairs and online and donated her earnings to charity.

Now at the Parsons School of Design in New York City, Sachdeva has rebranded Aanya’s Boutique into AANYA NYC. “That allowed me to dream even bigger,” she explains. “I’ve learned that if I stay true to my creativity and my beliefs, I can design with purpose and focus on ethical and sustainable fashion that inspires change. Fashion is about more than clothes. It’s also a platform to tell stories, to raise awareness, and to really make an impact. I love to design with my motto: fashion for change.”

Being at Parsons and in New York City has already opened several doors for Sachdeva. Last year, she got the opportunity to present her pieces in her first fashion show. With only about a week’s notice, Sachdeva put together a collection of 16 looks to walk the runway. It was such a success that the company asked her to present again at a New York Fashion Week event. (That time, she had three weeks’ notice.)

“It wasn’t 100% perfect,” Sachdeva says of putting together a collection in such a short timeframe. “But it was such an amazing feeling seeing these looks that I worked really hard on—even at school, I was crocheting under the desk—go out there in front of a whole audience.”

Sachdeva says she thought back to herself when she was seven, in her bedroom hand-sewing clothes for her American Girl dolls. “It was a surreal moment,” she says. “It’s one of my favorite things that’s ever happened to me.”

Who is your personal style icon?

Aanya Sachdeva: Growing up, my personal style icon was actually always my mom. She loves bold colors and statement pieces, and she isn’t afraid to stand out in a crowd. Similarly, my other style icons, like Tyla, have that same bold approach to fashion. I love people like that.

What’s your dream job?

My dream job is to use fashion as a way to inspire people and drive positive change in the world. I want to grow AANYA NYC into a brand that stands for purpose, and that can mean collaborating with non-profits or even creating new systems that reduce waste and push the industry towards sustainability. Designing unique, ethically made pieces will always be at the heart of what I do, but I want my brand to represent something bigger than that.