MAM
Diipa Büller-Khosla’s date with Paris Fashion Week & Sephora
MUMBAI: Netherlands-based Indian origin beauty entrepreneur Diipa Büller-Khosla has two reasons to be pleased as punch.
The first: her three year old brand indē wild, has recently entered into a ground-breaking global partnership with Sephora, the world’s leading prestige beauty retailer. This collaboration marks a historic moment for Indian beauty brands, as indē wild is the first to feature Ayurveda as its core ethos. The partnership will bring Khosla’s innovative and sustainable skincare products to a global audience.
The second reason for the broad smile on her face: Büller-Khosla, according to a press release, was the only Indian celebrity invited to Dior’s Spring/Summer 2025 women’s ready-to-wear showcase at the prestigious 50th anniversary of Paris Fashion Week.
“This exclusive invitation underscores her immense social media popularity, her ability to connect with audiences worldwide, and her profound impact on the fashion industry as a key opinion leader,” says the release.
Büller-Khosla expresses her excitement and gratitude for Dior’s invitation and states, “This invitation is a testament to the growing influence of Indian talent on the global fashion stage. It’s a proud moment for our country. Dior’s commitment to innovation and elegance perfectly complements my brand’s ethos. I’m excited to see how our collaboration will redefine the boundaries of luxury fashion.”
Büller-Khosla journey to global recognition began in 2017 when she became the face of Maybelline and had her billboard on Piccadilly circus, London. Since then, she has consistently made her mark at both Cannes and Venice Film Festivals, solidifying her position as a fixture in the international fashion scene.
Today, Büller-Khosla, has 2.1 million followers on Instagram, among whom figure some big names from India including Masaba Gupta, Manish Malhotra, Navya Nanda, Madhu Sapre, Suhana Khan, Ananya Pandey, and Prajakta Kohli. She spends her time travelling all over the world for magazine cover shoots and to promote her brand, when she is not at home with her Dutch diplomat husband Oleg Büller and her daughter Dua.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
