Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan dreams big with edgy D'Yavol X streetwear label

From the brand's limited-edition lines to its secretive videos, everything is deliberate, according to its co-founders

Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan stars in the campaign for son Aryan's fashion brand D'Yavol X. All photos: D'Yavol X

SRK sports the limited-edition Signature X leather jacket, which sold out overnight

Jacket aside, the first collection of the streetwear brand offered T-shirts and hoodies

The clothes in the first release were priced between Dh1,000 and Dh9,000

From left, D'Yavol X's co-founders Leti Blagoeva, Bunty Singh and Aryan

Aryan, centre, directed the video campaigns for D'Yavol X himself

Want to look (a little) like Shah Rukh Khan? The Bollywood star’s son Aryan Khan can make that happen.

It’s not going to come easy or cheap, though. For one, you’re going to have to keep your eyes peeled for the next release of the mysteriously named D'Yavol X, Aryan’s newly launched luxury streetwear brand.

Next, you’ll need to load up your cart and check out quickly. When the first batch was released on April 30, the Signature X leather jacket — limited to 30 pieces and sported by SRK himself — was priced at about Dh9,000. "Was" because the Signature X sold out overnight. The rest of the capsule collection, with fewer than 100 pieces per style, sold out within 30 hours of launch.

Deliberately provocative

D'Yavol X is the brainchild of Aryan, Bulgaria’s Leti Blagoeva and Bunty Singh. Aryan crossed paths with Blagoeva and Singh almost a decade ago when he was filming on location in the Balkan country.

The friendship turned into a business partnership when Aryan came up with the idea of a luxury lifestyle collective that offers experiences and products across fashion, beverages and events.

The venture was christened D'Yavol — “devil” in Bulgarian — by Blagoeva after Aryan’s preoccupation with Robert Johnson and the urban myth of the blues legend having sold his soul to the devil in exchange for musical success.

While the name is quite the mouthful and it remains to be seen how the ambitious concept holds up in the long run, the first release from the “umbrella brand that houses a number of verticals”, as Singh describes it, has definitely piqued interests.

From the outset, D’Yavol has adopted a confidently in-your-face aura as evident in its social media teaser videos (directed by Aryan himself), the release itself being shrouded in secrecy, and the tight-lipped attitude about what comes next.

“We wanted to fuel anticipation through the teaser, which was essentially the creation story of our logo,” Aryan tells The National. “Our aim was to build a story that customers discover layer by layer because we’re not just about the products we deliver, but also the experience one has while interacting with the brand.”

Singh adds: “However, our focus on authenticity, quality and unexpected design will never waver. It is the core of what we do. As we move forward, we will continue surprising our audience.”

Surprises, though, can be tricky.

Word on the street

Social media is awash with semi-viral gasps and pearl-clutching ridicule over the eye-watering price points of basic tees and hoodies, most of which cost between Dh1,100 and Dh2,200. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. If steered shrewdly, ridicule could simply be envy’s wittier sibling.

Streetwear has historically tread a long, meandering path. It has travelled far from its humble beginnings, grounded as it was in the hip-hop, skating and underground subcultures that dominated the zeitgeist at the turn of the century in New York City, Los Angeles and Tokyo.

Now designers such as Demna, Raf Simons, Riccardo Tisci, Jun Takahashi, Nigo, James Jebbia and the late Virgil Abloh have entered the fray. They’ve taken the streetwear ethos and placed it at the centre of some of the biggest names in luxury — Louis Vuitton, Kenzo, Prada, Burberry, Off-White, Supreme, Undercover, Balenciaga, Les Benjamins — with strategic collaborations and collections that marry the discipline of luxe tailoring and knitwear with boxy, baggy and androgynous streetwear staples replete with rebellious graffiti.

And in-the-know fashionistas are shelling out the big bucks.

It’s an exciting time, then, to be an urban streetwear brand if — and this is a big if — one can find new things to say and do.

All that glitters

Let’s be honest — it’s very probable that the biggest moment of delight for most folk willing to spend several thousand dirhams on a cotton tee comes from the brief moment of connection it affords them with Bollywood’s biggest star. There is something about Shah and his family that tugs at the heartstrings of the Indian subcontinent and its widespread diaspora in a way little else can.

The Khans know this, of course. It’s why, in addition to Shah being the brand ambassador, Aryan’s mother Gauri and sister Suhana have been busy promoting D’Yavol online and being photographed in its designs during public appearances.

An unapologetic Aryan has launched D’Yavol into a stratosphere that’s nearly impossible to access for most other talented debutant designers and entrepreneurs. On the flip side, the world is going to be watching for every misstep, just waiting to cry “nepo baby” louder, which is a big burden to carry.

Diamond shoes can, in fact, hurt. Especially when you’re walking in them in front of your father's 40 million social media followers.

Designer dreams

Whether or not D’Yavol can repeat the success of its first release remains to be seen. However, the triumphant trio behind the brand exude confidence and know-how when speaking about the different facets of their creative choices.

“Our first drop centred around streetwear because we think most people naturally gravitate towards streetwear due to its comfort and versatility,” says Aryan. “It’s also a style that is unisex by default and can have a whole range of interpretations — from minimalist to graphically intense — which is very appealing to me.”

Blagoeva calls the trio “global nomads” and says they draw inspiration from “cultures around the world".

"But what ties everything together at D’Yavol is our unrelenting focus on quality and craftsmanship," she adds. "We’ve used some wonderful natural fabrics, including a great cotton and bamboo blend that’s breezy and pleasantly wearable even when it’s hot."

Singh adds: “Our products involve a lot of detailing and hand-finishing, which is why we had to keep to small production numbers.

“We also want to harness many more creative ideas, so we’ve decided to do small but frequent releases to ensure they all find an outlet.”