Daaksh Bharat is a Toronto based stylist and creative. Daaksh is a proud QPOC and is passionate about increasing diversity and representation in the fashion industry.
“It definitely is harder for me relate to people who are from India. When I go back, I’m too Canadian to be Indian. Even when I was interning there, people would call me the Canadian girl. It was definitely a weird experience...kind of being in-between cultures like that.”
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in New Delhi, India and we immigrated to Canada when I was six. When we immigrated, we lived two months in Calgary, and then we also lived in Vancouver. I’ve grown up going all around Canada since then.
How was the experience of moving from school to school? What was your friend group like in high school?
For the most part, it was really good, especially when I was younger. It wasn’t as hard when I was younger, but our last move, I was sixteen and when we moved from Alberta to Ontario, that was definitely a tough move. I feel like moving around a lot has definitely made me more adaptable and comfortable talking to people I don’t know.
I went to high school--the last two years--in Oakville...It was very different from Alberta. I found that in Alberta, it was less clique-y.
My friend group [in high school] was pretty varied. It was one of the few that was super varied. We had people from Korea, I had a friend who was Italian, my other friend was also Indian. We were one of the few groups that just talked to everybody. Whereas there were certain groups where all of the Indian girls would stick together and all of the white girls would stick together which was fine. It was just high school.
What was your experience like when you went back to India?
It definitely is harder for me relate to people who are from India. When I go back, I’m too Canadian to be Indian. Even when I was interning there, people would call me the Canadian girl. It was definitely a weird experience, kind of being in-between cultures like that. I’m Indian. I was born in India. My parents were Indian. They immigrated here, but I also grew up here in Canada, so it’s kind of like the mixture of the two...this in-between...which I think is common.
Me, my parents and my siblings are the only people from back home who came here so we definitely felt a disconnect because I didn’t grow up my with cousins around or going to grandpa and grandma’s house. There are certain parts that they sacrificed but all in all, I love my parents, my family and I’m really grateful that we’re here.
What does being Canadian mean to you? Do you remember when you officially became Canadian?
I didn’t officially become Canadian until I was 14 years old. And it was something that was very vivid in my mind. I remember going to the ceremony and we got pins and flags. I’m not a patriotic person but I do appreciate Canada especially when I go back to India and see the life that I could have lived.
In order to become Canadian citizens, we had to renounce our Indian citizenship. It was weird giving that up. Even though it wasn’t a physical thing, it felt very symbolic.
You talked about this feeling of being in-between cultures. Have you ever faced any challenges because of that feeling?
I think it’s weird, but when someone is Indian I feel a little bit more worried because when my family moved here we assimilated a lot. My dad was really big on assimilating and fitting in. He didn’t want us to be too like the Indian family—which was good because we didn’t stick out, but it was also bad because I’ve lost a lot of my culture. When I meet someone who is Indian, my first thought is: “Am I gonna be Indian enough for them?”
When I meet other friends who are Indian and their families are a lot more Indian than mine their first comment is like “Oh, you’re so white-washed”. I know they don’t mean any harm by it, but it definitely makes me feel like I don’t have an identity.
I grew up my whole life wanting to become a doctor. My great-grandfather was a doctor, and when I went to university I was taking Biology and Business, but when I got there, when I started doing that, I thought that I don’t actually know if this is what I want. I felt like I’ve just been doing it because other people told me or I just went with the flow.
How did you decide to make that shift?
Basically, I was in a relationship for a while, and when that relationship ended, a lot of who I was was dependant on this other person. Now that it was just me, I had to figure out who I was all over again because I spent my entire young adulthood with a certain person thinking I was going a certain way.
It was only after that relationship ended when I realized that fashion is what I love. Art is what I love…just being creative. Maybe it’s naive, but I really want to have a profession that I’m excited to go to work everyday.
Do you see yourself represented in the fashion/media industry? What does fashion mean to you?
I think that that’s kind of what I want to change. I am a queer woman-of-colour, and that’s not something that I have ever really seen represented. I can think of maybe one. Desiree Akhavan does a really good job. In one of her movies, I felt super represented, but that’s the only example I have. I can’t think of someone who kind of looks like me, and is also queer, and is also in a creative field.
I want fashion to be inclusive. I want it be for everyone. When people think of fashion, they think of high fashion, fashion shows and a certain kind of body type. And yes, that is fashion right now-- but it’s not what it has to be. I want to be part of changing that. The way that I want to accomplish that is by doing more shoots with people of colour, other queer people and kind of making my own representation.
Find Daaksh on the internet at: @oddnumberstyle and https://www.daaksh.com/