CHICAGO (WLS) — ABC7 Chicago is celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and one Indian-American entrepreneur is using clothes to reclaim culture.
One woman is turning a staple of Indian households into a brand rooted in heritage and helping other women feel seen in the process.
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Jyoti Chand, the founder of Jotes, says in a world where culture is often borrowed without credit, she’s making sure her new Indian nightgown brand comes with a sense of identity and connection.
In the home of Chand, who now lives in the Chicago area, comfort is culture.
“My mom was cooking in her nightgown,” Chand said. “She was cleaning, she was taking care of us, she was running errands… and sleeping.”
The author of “Fitting Indian,” influencer, and now founder of Jotes, Chand says the Indian nightgown is more than something you sleep in.
“It is the most underrated garment in Indian culture,” Chand said.
For generations, it’s been the uniform of home, worn to cook, to clean, to rest. And now, Chand is reimagining it as the clothing you can wear anywhere.
“I designed this nightgown to be worn with nothing underneath,” Chand said.
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The first collection is also personal. When Chand was 12, she traveled to India with her grandmother and says the colors, symmetry and detail inside the Taj Mahal stayed with her.
“I drew all my inspiration from the Taj Mahal… this specific print is called the Taj, and it is actually inspired by the wallpaper inside the Taj Mahal,” Chand said.
But this isn’t just about fashion. It’s also about credit, and who gets to profit from culture once the mainstream decides it’s beautiful.
“There have been brands lately that bring in these Indian-inspired things that are really just Indian,” Chand said. “Like, there’s no Indian-inspired. It’s Indian.”
For Jotes customer Muryem Quadri, that recognition is why she bought one, specifically to give birth to her future daughter.
“The first time I put on a Jotes piece, I felt beautiful, and I felt comfortable, and I felt at ease,” Quadri said.
Quadri is a second-generation Indian woman and says as a kid, she grew up loving pieces of her culture, even when others made her feel as if she had to hide it.
“I remember the same thing, like wearing henna in elementary school and being asked if I had, like, drawn mud on my hands,” Quadri said.
Now, years later with the support of Jotes, she’s wearing her culture boldly.
“I want to impart to my children one day is a huge sense of pride of all of the different things that my people, Muslim and Indian, have contributed to culture,” Quadri said.
And that’s the point. While it’s a nightgown rooted in Indian women’s everyday lives, she’s made it for any woman to feel cherished.
“I want them to feel at home, wherever they are,” Chand said. “Our culture is also our home.”
The first women’s line of Jotes is now available. More information can be found here.
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