Kiran Qureshi (KiranxKajal), 30, is an influencer based in San Diego with Pakistani roots. The South Asian influencer has over 30,000 followers on Instagram, showcasing everything from fashion to beauty to tech. She is the ultimate girl's girl, making sure her "gworls" follow along on her journey as a content creator while inspiring them to create content. In this interview, she discusses her fashion, content creation, challenges and Gworls Room.

How would you describe your style?

It depends on my mood. When I'm happy, I like to wear bright, fun colours, which represent our desi culture a lot. It makes us stand out and feel like we're bad bitches. I just love anything that makes me feel confident. I love street style, but on another day, I started to like balletcore. It's a lot to do with my mood.

What are your favourite ways to fuse South Asian fashion with Western?

I only started wearing jhumkas last year because I found mini jhumkas. At first, I didn't want to do anything with my culture. I saw other fashion creators wearing big jhumkas with American clothes; they influenced me to get into my desi style. I also love using pretty dupattas to make cute tops and mini skirts, adding them to American outfits and creating a desi fusion.

How long have you been a content creator, and what inspired you to start creating content with fun and unique editing?

While in Sicily, I tried to become a content creator, but reels weren't a big thing then, so I was trying to take cute pictures. I've never really been photogenic, and I've never been that spot-on about fashion where people would follow me. I tried fashion content creation, and it didn't succeed. I watched Antoinette Victoria's videos, which had fun editing and features, and I loved them. That was my favourite type of content to watch, and if I were ever to start creating content, I would want to make videos like that! I also love that it isn't just talking to the camera kind of video cause I get very nervous talking to the camera. If I could sit back and do fun edits instead of being chatty, I could also display my personality that way.

What does a day of content creation look like?

I sometimes write down my ideas the night before or have a list of ideas. Usually, I'll wake up, make breakfast, get ready, and then make content for an hour and hype myself for at least 30 minutes every day before filming. Filming only takes an hour, but editing is what takes forever. I spend around 3 hours editing, engaging with my content, doing some housework, going to the gym, and then I do my 9-5 work at night and go to bed.

What challenges did you face as a content creator, particularly as a brown woman?

Staying consistent because my mental health gets in the way a lot, I struggle with depression and anxiety, so when that gets the best of me, I don't want to post at all. I compare myself to others, and that's when everything goes wrong because you'll see someone else blow up and feel like I wish that were me. But in reality, you're putting yourself down and will not stay consistent.

What gaps did you notice in the online fashion community for brown women when starting?

Just brown girl creators in general; I didn't see that many brown girl creators when I first started creating, and I wanted to be one of them; that way, I could stand out by joining them and also inspire other girls so they can be able to do this as well. The more brown girls you see, the more you'll feel inspired to see there is space for you. There is still a gap when working with brands; I don't see many brown girls working with fashion and beauty brands. There are a select few and many other brown creators, yet I keep seeing the same influencers going on brand trips, etc. There are many brown creators, and a brand can take more than one influencer on a trip, yet they don't.

What tips would you give someone who is looking to start content creation?

People say the starting part is hard, but the whole journey is challenging; you have to be motivated by your goals instead of expecting instant rewards. Getting started is hard because you will wonder if people will like you, but that's also something you face throughout the journey. A quote I live by is, "Faith and fear are the same, channelled differently", which changed my outlook on everything. Anytime I was scared to post, I'd shut it down because I had faith that this would work.

Gworls Room is your broadcast channel on Instagram. Can you tell me more about this community and why you started it?

I was only on TikTok when I first started and wanted to connect with my community. When I was on TikTok, I knew I wanted to grow on Instagram, too, I wanted to share my journey, and as I finally followed my dreams at 30, I wanted everyone to do it, too. It's a way for me to connect with my community when nothing else is doing that for me; it also gives them an intimate version of myself.

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