Misha Japanwala

Misha Japanwala (b. 1995) is a Pakistani artist and fashion designer whose practice is rooted in a philosophy of radical shamelessness/بے غیرتی (beghairati)— that reclaims the body from cultures of shame, control and silence. Her work documents marginalized bodies as sites of resistance, healing and reclamation.

By inviting muses into her studio, often through open calls, Japanwala molds people’s bodies in a way that celebrates the parts of ourselves we are conditioned to be ashamed of. Every pore and detail is preserved and carried into the final artworks. Situated between fashion and sculpture, these works insist on the radical act of being seen exactly as we are.

Japanwala has exhibited in Pakistan and the United States. Her work is held in the permanent collection of the Tang Museum and in private collections worldwide. It has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Vogue, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and Document Journal, among others. Her pieces have been commissioned for celebrities such as Cardi B, Lupita Nyong’o, Lil Nas X, and Joy Crookes. Japanwala was an honoree on the Forbes Under 30 list in 2021 and the Dazed 100 list in 2024. Recently, she was commissioned to make two custom sculptural costume accessories for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.

Raised in Karachi, Pakistan, Japanwala received a BFA in Fashion Design from the Parsons School of Design in 2018. She is based between Karachi and New Jersey, and is represented by Hannah Traore Gallery. Japanwala is currently an artist in residence at Silver Art Projects in New York City.