"I always thought was so cool growing up."
Since coming into the spotlight with KATSEYE, Lara Raj has been seen wearing a bindi with many of her looks.
The bindi is a cultural staple for many South Asians but for Lara, she has turned it into a bold fashion statement.
Speaking to Teen Vogue, Lara wears a bindi to reclaim her culture and help others feel proud of theirs.
She explained: “My mom loves to wear her traditional wedding jewellery with American clothes, which I always thought was so cool growing up.”
But Lara also remembered being mocked for wearing it as a child.
She said her current style reflects both her upbringing and a desire to change perceptions.
“I really wanted to make something like the Ohm necklace or the bindi into a fashion statement and something that people could see as, ‘Whoa, that’s so sick!’ and, ‘That’s so fire!’
“And other brown girls, they want to wear it too, as a thing.
“It’s not something to get made fun of for. Because I always got made fun of for it, I really want to change that.”
Lara’s fans have embraced her aesthetic. Her blend of Eastern and Western fashion has become a staple of her identity, even as her tastes evolve.
She continued: “I’m trying to be a little bit more chic recently.
“Chic is so not my thing. I love sleek clothing, and I like black. I like glamour.
“And Diesel, Balenciaga, those are my favourite brands in the world. But I’m trying to get more into Miu Miu, Chanel. I even bought Tabis a couple of weeks ago and I’m trying to experiment with that.”
Despite venturing into high fashion, Lara Raj admits to feeling out of place when wearing designer pieces.
“I feel like it feels a little uncomfortable on me because it’s so posh in a way, which is so the opposite of my style.”
“But I don’t want to be boxed anymore. I feel like I have a style and that’s my thing, and it’s always black or chrome or something like that, and I want to expand and be a little bit more fashionable.”
When it comes to music, KATSEYE recently released their single ‘Gnarly‘.
The song was released as the first single from their upcoming second EP, Beautiful Chaos, scheduled for June 27, 2025.
Loading ...