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Misha Vayner

@mishavayner

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2x Founder | Fashion + Culture Indian fashion + multicultural identity 🇮🇳 South Asian brands × U.S. market Founder, MISHA NICOLE ’10 • WSJ / NYT

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🔥 Come back era unlocked . But make it 2.0 💅

This doesn’t feel like nostalgia.

It feels like something that has been percolating for 16 years finally breaking open.

MISHA NICOLE was enormous for me — not only because of what I built so young, with wildly ambitious goals + very limited resources, but because of how completely it expressed my eye, my instincts, my heritage + the way I saw what fashion and retail could be.

When it ended, I never believed the vision was the failure.

But losing something I had birthed at that magnitude was profound. And for years, while I was raising three children, healing, rebuilding + eventually creating an entirely different successful business, there wasn’t really space to fully process what that chapter had been — or what I still wanted to do with it.

Turns out, those years weren’t time away from the vision.

They added to it.

I built another business.
I became a far stronger leader.
I developed a much more rooted sense of self.
I learned how people heal, change + become.
I gained another decade of commercial instinct, perspective + evidence about what I’m capable of creating when I fully back myself.

And the fashion eye? The instinct for product, culture, story + what people will want before they know they want it?

That never went anywhere.

Now all of it is integrating.

The ideas. The clarity. The conversations. The opportunities. The creative energy. It feels almost physical.

I don’t want to recreate what I built at 29.

I can see an evolved, far more integrated version of what MISHA NICOLE 2.0 can be — one that’s even more aligned with today’s market, consumer + cultural moment, while being deeply rooted in everything I’ve learned, built + become since.

I’m in an unapologetic season of backing my biggest visions in full force.

The ambition is bigger.

The foundation is stronger.

And I have never felt more ready for what comes next. 🚀

LFG
#indianfashion #southasianfashion #fashionfounder #southasianstyle #fashionretail taken in New York City by @mishavayner

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2 months ago

I’ve always had a strong, personal sense of style. From a young age, it was where I found my creative expression and play.

I’d cut up t-shirts and add vintage broaches, turn basketball jerseys into tops or dresses, style them with cargo pants, wide belts, vintage jewelry. I wore a men’s tie to my 7th grade birthday party. Fashion was how I had fun, expressed myself, and more than anything, how I felt like me. I was always my own person—never a follower, always rooted in my own expression.

And then there was Indian fashion.

I was fascinated by it. I’d borrow my mom’s oxidized silver Rajasthani jewelry—bells, amulets, intricate designs—and throw it on with a vintage tee to give it edge. A bindi with jeans and a basic top made me feel like a princess. I loved embroidered cholis, mirror work, bold colors, tie-dye fabrics, block prints—pieces that felt so rich, vibrant, and unlike anything I saw around me.

I’d mix them with denim, t-shirts, worn-in leather, kholapuri sandals—without thinking twice. It never felt like choosing one or the other. It just felt like me.

Looking back, I can see how much of this was about staying connected to my roots while expressing my own version of myself. That blend—Indian and Western, traditional and unconventional—became my signature. The New York Indian that I was.

Years later, it became the foundation of my first business.
#MISHANICOLE

More to come on that. by @mishavayner

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6 months ago

Totally wearing a spring peasant top in the dead of fall. It wasn’t part of some plan or trend. I just felt like wearing it cuz it’s comfy. But tres chili today. So I threw on a cozy turtleneck and obvi layered up some vintage jewelry and ta da 🪄 I’m season appropriate but more than anything - I’m Misha appropriate.

When it comes to fashion, I’ve never followed rules - or trends. I know what lights me up, what feels like ME, what makes me feel like the ME-est me and I roll with that.

I see getting dressed as an opportunity to play and be creative. It’s a way I tap into that part of myself on the daily. Both my creative expression AND my identity and Self. ✨

A time to ask, how do I want to feel today? What do I want to express?

#vintagejewelery
#personalstyle #indowestern #indowesternstyle❤️ taken in Westchester County by @mishavayner

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a day ago

October so far has truly been MAGICAL ✨
Since this summer, I’ve finally had the capacity to double down on my creative (and biz) dreams that have lived in me since childhood.

I began Act 1 of this journey in 2009 when I launched Misha Nicole + was ❤️‍🔥🚀🔥.

But the success hit a screeching halt when an unfortunate circumstance impacted my biz + it came crashing down (along with my mental health + life 😬).

But your girls rebuilt herself, built another/ diff biz in the healing space, + raised a few kids.

But she always knew that chapter was never finished. The yearning only got stronger + as I (& the market) evolved, so did that seed within me.

I finally pulled the proverbial trigger this summer + have hit the ground running in my mission to build what I know the fashion market needs from MOI and only only me.

Im not following anyone’s playbook. I’m going at it in my own unique way, per usual and it feels so exciting.

In October alone, I’ve had the most inspiring conversions, connections, synergistic meetings

I’ve felt parts me myself come alive in ways that my body had forgotten - bc when you put me with textiles and jewelry 🤯🤯🤯 FUGGETABOUTIT

I get off from creative strategy, seeing a white space and building a biz for it when no one has, tapping into my creative + fashion eye, connecting dots - and people - and this is all of that and more!

I’m also getting my hands into it with sewing and playing with different textiles, I’m finding ways to be more sustainable and green and give back and also showcasing my culture in the most relevant, unique and on point way.

I’m so excited for the birth of this new chapter and the rebirth of Mish ! taken in Westchester County by @mishavayner

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2 days ago

Ever look in the mirror and realize that you’re so proud to be the woman that you are?

And not because of your job, or what you’ve accomplished, or what you have, or who you know or what your lifestyle is of any of that

Just because of the person you have become inside

Knowing that the woman in the reflection will always have her back, that she can handle anything, that she is full of love, shell never give up on her dreams or abandon her values, and that she devoted to what’s right and good.

That, is the most incredible feeling, that no one else, no thing, no stuff, no anything can give you.

❤️ by @mishavayner

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8 days ago

The moment I put on a vintage or authentic Indian item on and style it on my own way- I feel like ME.

It’s like I was asleep before and all of a sudden I have landed into the ME-EST ME . I feel alive, expressed and feel that je ne sais quoi.

What is your feeling towards this type of vest?

*but I do need to learn how to do my hair. Look like cousin it. Open to all the hair tips !

Pants @madewell
Shoes @isabelmarant

#desifashion #indianstyle #indofusion #vintagejewlery #personalstyle taken in Westchester County by @mishavayner

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9 days ago

My signature #mishanicole aesthetic is a whole vibe and IMHO is so needed. I crave more of it myself and I also see so much beyond what I’ve even been able to curate and express thus far and feel I haven’t even scratched the surface

But I’m committed to process of the rebuild of this - body of work - (yes, that’s what it is to me!) and committed to doing my best to share what I can along the way.

So much magic has already unfolded for this path that I just have not had the bandwidth to get out here to share, but take this messy first post as the messy kick start of this new (public facing) journey .

If you were a former client or fan of #mishanicole - get ready for your world to be ROCKED.

And by the way, this necklace has such a special and recent story attached to it. Wearing it not only makes me feel so like me, but bc of what recently occurred with it, it’s also a reminder of the magic that’s always present in this universe.

One day I’ll share when I have the time .

But isn’t it the most beautiful necklace ? taken in Westchester County by @mishavayner

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10 days ago

💃What. A. Summer 👏👏

I know, I know, it’s not completely over yet, but my kids return from 7 weeks of sleepaway camp today + I had set some solid personal goals for myself for when they were gone / for my own summer camp if you will.

& they were ambitious. & I could not be more stoked to be in this space with having accomplished everything I set out to accomplish during this time / summer 🙌

They are Big buckets that have layers but for the sake of IG , I’ll list them in the most basic way

✔️pivot my career back from wellness to fashion
✔️do deep work in my marriage
✔️set up home structure for more flow
✔️make clear strides in my book project
✔️redo website
✔️ clean our closet
✔️create new structures in family for more ease + less friction
✔️restore health
✔️spend more time with friends
✔️kick off new body recomp journey
✔️do more of what brings me joy- engage in the arts, exploring new towns, dancing, friends
✔️work on my finances + set up some solid strategies
✔️read more
✔️spend time with my parents

❤️and come back home to MYSELF.

I accomplished alllll of that and more. I feel so grounded, happy, mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually in such a good space and soooo excited to hug my babies today and spend time with them as a filled up mama!

What were your summer goals? And did you meet them? I’d love to know! And no shame either way. Just think sometimes it helps to check in and even reflect on how you did as a reference point. Ya know? taken in Westchester County by @mishavayner

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2 months ago

Just drop me in a sea of colorful textiles, embroideries + unusual jewelry, turn the hip hop up + let me dance. ✌️

#IndianFashion #SouthAsianStyle #PersonalStyle #IndianJewelry #selfexpression by @mishavayner

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2 months ago

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2 months ago

Nothing like seeing women send you pics of them wearing their Misha nicole jewelry 15 years later and still obsessed. 🔥

I can’t wait for the 2.0 version that’s loading ✨✨✨✨

And apparel too 🙌

Which of these 2 do you like better?

#southasianjewellery #indianjewelry #indianfashion #personalstyle taken in South Salem, New York by @mishavayner

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2 months ago

Real question - but first context

So, when I put on Indian jewelry, I actually feel myself drop back into my highest self. It’s like an actual full body and energy shift and expansive unlock.

It’s as if my body knows - THIS IS YOU.

It makes me feel ALIVE, authentically ME. Different in the best way.

(Which is so me as someone who has always beaten to my own drum. Always wanted to lead my own path + repulsed by the idea of following others.)

But my actual question is -

What unlocks YOUR highest self? When you wear it. Or do it. Or experience it?

Is it wearing a particular color? A particular scent? Or a song?

I’d love to know! I personally think personal style is such a powerful way to unlock your most lit up self.

And I think having a unique POV and signature way to do that is so powerful.

I’d love to know- what’s that for you??

#IndianFashion #IndianJewelry #SouthAsianStyle #PersonalStyle #selfexpression by @mishavayner

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2 months ago