In an industry increasingly fluent in the language of sameness, individuality can feel almost radical. References are shared, aesthetics circulate quickly, and identities are often distilled into a handful of recognisable signifiers: the fashion girl, the beauty girl, the food creator, the cultural storyteller. It makes for easy consumption, but rarely leaves much room for contradiction.
Akshara and Subiksha Shivakumar resist that kind of neatness. The sisters occupy the same industry, share a childhood and draw from the same cultural vocabulary, yet neither seems particularly interested in being defined by any one part of it. Their South Indian identity appears in different forms – in Subiksha’s instinct for fashion, beauty and adornment; in Akshara’s relationship with food, Tamil traditions, creative projects and the fusion of fashion and food – but it exists alongside everything else they are curious about.
Perhaps that is what makes their creative worlds so compelling. No clean line separates culture from experimentation, tradition from irreverence, fashion from food. A Bharatanatyam upbringing can inform an approach to makeup; a saree can become the blueprint for a plate of ravioli. What they inherit is less a fixed aesthetic than a way of looking – one that allows seemingly disparate interests to coexist.
On Akshara: Embroidered long jacket, JJ VALAYA, 2019; Chaand hathphool worn as necklace, Anu Merton; Pichwai Lariat necklace and Pichwai charms necklace, both by Mortantra; Aurora vine ear cuff, Golden Window
On Subiksha: Black velvet jacket, Rohit Bal, 2016; Vienna brooch, Swarovski; Semi precious stone ring, Mahesh Notandass
For all their differences, there is also an unmistakable familiarity between them. They grew up watching the same films, eating the same food and dressing from the same cultural wardrobe. Now, those shared references have resurfaced in two entirely different creative languages. One sister finds freedom in making the face a canvas; the other finds it in turning food into a form of visual storytelling. Neither is entirely separate from the other, nor are they trying to be.
On Akshara: Embroidered long jacket, JJ VALAYA, 2019; Chaand hathphool worn as necklace, Anu Merton; Pichwai Lariat necklace and Pichwai charms necklace, both by Mortantra; Aurora vine ear cuff, Golden Window
On Subiksha: Black velvet jacket, Rohit Bal, 2016; Vienna brooch, Swarovski; Semi precious stone ring, Mahesh Notandass
In conversation, the sisters speak less about following a particular path than about making room for several versions of themselves at once.
On Subiksha: Zardosi embroidery long coat set, Anamika Khanna, 2016; Vida earrings, UNCUT Jewelry; Silver gold plated ring, Tribe Amrapali; Knot strap gold stiletto heels, A&S
Finding Their Own Language
That refusal to be neatly defined is reflected in the careers they have built. Subiksha describes herself simply as someone drawn to anything that allows her to create – fashion, beauty, film and art – while Akshara’s path has moved from modelling into acting and content creation, with food becoming one of its most personal anchors.
ELLE: You’re in the same industry, but your creative worlds look very different. How would you describe what you do today, and has that definition shifted?
Subiksha (S): I’m creative. I love fashion, beauty, film, art – anything that allows me to express my creativity.
Akshara (A): When I entered the agency, I joined as a model while I was still in college. I was in Bengaluru and moved to Mumbai for a little bit because I wanted to explore where it could take me. At the time, it was mostly curiosity. A lot of it wasn’t really in my control; it was about waiting for bookings.
When I look at what I do now, it has completely changed. I started making videos on the internet because I had a lot of free time, and I had a sibling who was doing the same thing, so it didn’t seem like a crazy thing to do. It felt natural to put my phone up and start recording myself.
Now, it’s starting to take shape as something much more personal. I model, I act, I create content, and I do a lot of things around my Tamil culture – whether that’s food, incorporating Tamil techniques or recipes into fusion dishes, the jewellery I wear, the bindi on my forehead or the clothes I choose. I’m mostly representing that part of me while balancing things that are true passions, like food, with parts of my work that I enjoy, like makeup and fashion.
On Akshara: Cape, pearl applique top and skirt set, Anamika Khanna; Emerald dusk earrings, Blooming flora bangle, and golden bangle, all by AKOK; Sita cuff, Forest of Chintz; Vriti ring, Vasundhara; Apsara gold heels, Sirooh
On Subiksha: Zardosi embroidery long coat set, Anamika Khanna, 2016; Vida earrings, UNCUT Jewelry; Silver gold plated ring, Tribe Amrapali; Knot strap gold stiletto heels, A&S
What They Carry With Them
If their professional identities have diverged, their cultural references began in the same place. Yet even here, what each sister remembers reveals the different ways they instinctively see the world.
For Subiksha, the visual excess of her upbringing remains most vivid. She recalls a culture that is bright, colourful and loud – qualities that have since found their way into the way she approaches beauty and fashion. Her childhood as a Bharatanatyam dancer only deepened that visual vocabulary.
For Akshara, that connection is less visual and far more intimate. It begins at the dining table. “Growing up, the only way I felt connected to my culture had to be through the food. I think food is a very intimate thing. To go day after day sharing the same food together is very comforting, very intimate. And realising that the food I ate at home was something I could never get outside was a big part of it. That’s actually one of the reasons I started making food content. I believe so deeply that I need to share this with people because whatever we’re doing at home is so different,” she says.
On Akshara: Cape, pearl applique top and skirt set, Anamika Khanna; Emerald dusk earrings, Blooming flora bangle, and golden bangle, all by AKOK; Sita cuff, Forest of Chintz; Vriti ring, Vasundhara; Apsara gold heels, Sirooh
On Subiksha: Zardosi embroidery long coat set, Anamika Khanna, 2016; Vida earrings, UNCUT Jewelry; Silver gold plated ring, Tribe Amrapali; Knot strap gold stiletto heels, A&S
Refusing The Box
If there is one tension running through their creative lives, it is the expectation that identity should be coherent from the outside. Once an audience becomes familiar with one version of a person, everything that falls outside it can begin to feel like a departure.
On Akshara: Embroidered tree of life leotard, Rahul Mishra, 2022; Noctra statement danglers, Isharya; Pavia boots, OROH
On Subiksha: Iris sculpted gown, Rahul Mishra; Rose cut tanzanite earrings, Mahesh Notandass; Mumtaz ring, Vasundhara; Eden black pump, Rene Caovilla
ELLE: Is there a version of yourself that the industry hasn’t made room for yet?
S: I’ve carved my own path creatively and professionally since I entered this industry, so I don’t really worry about whether the industry makes room for me or not. I create my own space.
A: I don’t think there’s a part of me that the industry hasn’t made room for yet, but I do think that sometimes it can become very ‘this or that’. If you’re someone who works with food or your culture, you might get an audience that doesn’t necessarily want to embrace you when you move in the opposite direction – whether that’s fashion or expressing yourself freely without judgement. I have so many different parts of myself, and I think people tend to form an image of you based on a few things you do and their own judgements.
On Akshara: Metallic petals sculpted corset and skirt, both by Rimzim Dadu; Polki triangular chandelier drop earrings, VALLIYAN
On Subiksha: Leather cord dress, Rimzim Dadu; Fleur bijoux earrings, Forest of Chintz; Dual tone trishul shiva hand cuff, Tribe Amrapali
Sisters, Not Mirrors
Perhaps the easiest assumption to make about two sisters working in the same industry is that they must be influencing each other in obvious ways. But neither describes their relationship as one of imitation. Their creative worlds remain distinctly their own, even as the familiarity of growing up together inevitably surfaces in the details.
ELLE: What has watching each other work taught you about your own creative identity?
S: I tend to overthink things, and watching my sister approach everything so freely makes me want to let go and be more spontaneous. I think that’s an older-sister thing. We tend to be a lot more careful, while younger siblings are more carefree. I’m learning from her to stop being so cautious, find peace in the unknown and be more experimental.
A: The one thing I’ve learned from watching her express herself online, and even just from having her as an older sister, is not to try to fit the mould. As someone who creates content or expresses themselves online, it’s important to never do things out of fear of judgement. You should do things because you want to. She expresses herself so creatively and has never cared about making things super agreeable. At the root of it is doing your thing the way you want, without being influenced by what’s happening around you.
On Akshara: Metallic petals sculpted corset and skirt, both by Rimzim Dadu; Polki triangular chandelier drop earrings, VALLIYAN
On Subiksha: Leather cord dress, Rimzim Dadu; Fleur bijoux earrings, Forest of Chintz; Dual tone trishul shiva hand cuff, Tribe Amrapali
The Next Chapter
That spirit of possibility extends to whatever comes next. Neither sister speaks about a single, predetermined destination. Subiksha is already looking for ways to bring their shared aesthetic and cultural language into collaborations with food and jewellery brands. Akshara is more comfortable leaving the shape of the next chapter open.
ELLE: Fashion is storytelling, food is storytelling. What’s the next chapter each of you wants to tell?
S: We want to put podi in everything! We’re collaborating with food and jewellery brands to bring a little bit of our aesthetic and culture to Bombay, while finding new ways to make our South Indian identity part of everything we create.
Akshara: I think there’s going to be a million other chapters, and that’s what’s really exciting about being in this industry. Being a model, an actor, a content creator – opportunities can just pop up in life and change the direction you thought your life was going to take. You never know. We’ll see what happens. I’m excited about the projects I currently have and the direction and intention I have with one of my core identities with content, which is food and art. I have something really exciting coming up, and I want to be able to share the feeling I have for food and beauty with everyone else – something they can have too. Starting my own thing is an exciting new chapter.
For two sisters who have inherited so much of the same visual and cultural vocabulary, perhaps the most interesting thing is not how differently they have used it, but how little either seems interested in choosing just one way of being.
Team Credits:
Editorial Director: Ainee Nizami Ahmedi; Photographer: Nishant Gautam; Asst. Fashion Editor: Tejashree Raul, Jr. Graphic Designer: Shawnn Lourdess; Makeup: Richelle Fernandes; Hair: Umang Thapa at Anima Creatives; Editorial Coordinator: Nirja Shah; Assisted by: Hardika Singh; Muskan Mehta (Styling), Disha Talwar (Bookings); Location courtesy: Orello Studios
