When Dana Alikhani co-founded Muzungu Sisters alongside Tatiana Santo Domingo, it was a natural extension of her lifelong fascination with global cultures, human rights, and social anthropology.
Armed with degrees from SOAS and Columbia University, Dana turned a shared love for artisanal market finds into a pioneering, ethical slow-fashion brand that honors centuries-old traditions. Today, Muzungu Sisters works with 41 artisan communities across more than 20 countries, proving that high fashion and human dignity can go hand in hand.
In this week’s Sunday Series, Dana discusses her journey with us, from shifting from human rights to creative entrepreneurship, the joys and challenges of scaling a business built on slow craftsmanship, her non-negotiable family rituals, and how her travels shape both her wardrobe and her children's worldview.
Let’s get into it.
What inspired you to shift your career to build Muzungu Sisters?
I had studied Social Anthropology at SOAS and Human Rights at Columbia, and then worked in human rights and international affairs, so I was already very interested in how globalisation affects people at a very local level, particularly labour and livelihoods. My masters thesis was on the role of business in upholding labour rights. While I was finishing my masters in New York, Tatiana and I were talking about our next steps and we decided to merge ideas as we were both thinking about doing individual projects.
In our personal lives, we were both magpies constantly travelling and bringing things back: jewellery, clothes, baskets and objects we had found in markets. We realised there were these extraordinary traditions of making things by hand that were in danger of disappearing, not because people no longer valued them, but because they weren’t necessarily connected to people who wanted them and didn’t always have the chance to travel to find them. Muzungu Sisters became a way of joining those two worlds.
Your background in Social Anthropology and Human Rights from SOAS and Columbia is foundational to Muzungu Sisters. How did that academic focus directly shape your approach to ethical labour practices when starting the brand?
Anthropology taught me to question everything, look for shared meaning, made me mindful of fetishizing ‘the other’, and instead of accepting local traditions or systemic inequalities as inevitable issues to look at them, rather look at them as flexible human arrangements that can be questioned and understood,. Human rights gave me the other side of it: an obsession with knowing who made something, under what conditions, how they were paid and whether the relationship could actually benefit them in the long term.
So from the beginning, the question wasn't simply, “Is this beautiful?” It was also, “Who made it? How was it made? Can we work together in a way that allows this skill to continue?” I suppose anthropology taught me to ask questions and human rights taught me which questions you absolutely cannot afford not to ask.
What is one artisan technique or traditional craft you’ve encountered through Muzungu Sisters that holds a particularly special place in your heart?
Hand embroidery in India has a very special place in my heart, partly because of the almost absurd amount of time and skill contained in something that can look so effortless when you put it on. One of our bestselling kaftans takes around 27 hours to embroider by hand. I love that in an age when everything is becoming faster, there is something almost radical about an object that simply refuses to be hurried. And there is something very moving about embroidery because the hand of the person who made it is literally visible. It isn't perfect in the industrial sense, it is perfect because it is human.
Building an ethical, slow-fashion brand takes patience. What has been the most challenging aspect of preserving traditional craftsmanship while scaling a business?
Time is so important. Fashion is obsessed with speed and traditional craftsmanship is fundamentally not. You cannot tell someone that a centuries-old embroidery technique needs to be 40 per cent quicker because you have a delivery deadline. The challenge has been learning how to grow around the craft rather than forcing the craft to grow around us. We now work with 41 artisan communities across more than 20 countries, so there is obviously organisation and scale behind that, but the principle remains the same: the human process comes first.
Travel is a core element of your work. How do you handle being away from your children during sourcing trips, or do you find ways to bring them along into that world?
When we started Muzungu Sisters, Tatiana and I were both unmarried and we travelled a lot on sourcing trips and to curate pop-ups. I have scaled back travel a tremendous amount since having children. Simultaneously, since 2018 we have been doing a lot more designing, of prints and shapes which means that we are producing more items that we have control over from start to finish, using many of the same artisans as day 1. We do travel for our trunk shows around the world now, as that is a key part of connecting with our supporters in different cities.
On some trips, I try to involve my children in the world of it as much as possible, like Morocco last year. We travel together a lot as a family, and I love the idea that they grow up understanding that the world is enormous and that there are many completely different ways of living in it. They've also grown up around Muzungu Sisters, so conversations about India or Morocco aren't abstract ideas. There are objects in our house, phone conversations they have heard, people they've met. When I do travel without them, there is Whatsapp, the great destroyer of any illusion that a sourcing trip is sheer exoticism. You can be looking at an exquisite 200-year-old textile and simultaneously being asked where somebody's football socks are.
What are your small, non-negotiable daily rituals for staying grounded?
I used to be obsessed with tea and matcha, and never drank coffee, but it gives me great joy to have one or two coffees a day now. That and sleep. Sorry if it’s boring but “sleep and lots of water” are non-negotiable for me.
Given your deep background in human rights and global cultures, what core values or worldviews are most important for you to instill in your children?
Curiosity, empathy and perspective. I grew up in Cyprus to Iranian parents, then moved to London at 17, so I was aware quite early that identity can be layered and that the world looks completely different depending on where you happen to have been born. I want my children to understand the enormous role of chance in life. Where you are born, what passport you have, whether you grow up in peace or conflict, so much of it is a lottery. I think understanding that should make you both grateful and responsible. Kindness is probably the most useful starting point. And curiosity. If you're genuinely curious about other people, prejudice becomes much harder.
Weekend dressing often demands a balance between comfort for family life and feeling polished. What are your go-to non-negotiables for an effortless Saturday uniform?
My weekends during school term-time in London are very busy with accompanying my kids to sports activities so the crucial test is whether I can go from a football pitch to lunch without changing. So probably a great pair of jeans or corduroy trousers, an embroidered shirt or blouse, black leather boots, jewellery I've had forever and in the winter one of our Joon or Bibi coats that keep me warm and make the whole thing look more intentional and tied together. In the warmer months, the suede Koko fringe jacket or Dylan jacket instead. Both have large pockets to fit my phone, car keys, lip gloss and wipes for muddy soles and hands!
How do you discuss topics like ethical consumption, global awareness, and sustainability with your kids in an accessible, age-appropriate way?
They are very mindful and aware although I try not to use the word “sustainability” too often with them. Children have a very strong instinct for fairness, so actually the human side of ethical consumption is often easier for them to understand than it is for adults. We talk about things in very practical terms. We talk about waste and we might ask who made this? Where did it come from? What happens to something when we throw it away? With clothes, I think the simplest lesson is just to look after things. Wear them again. Mend them. Give them to somebody else. Understand that objects don't magically appear in shops and magically disappear when you no longer want them.
What items in your wardrobe have you found yourself repeatedly reaching for this summer?
Kaftans, the Mila dress, and our Thea dress in maxi and mini length. Our Shell Song collection has been in constant rotation.
What is one lesson or piece of advice from your own upbringing that you actively try to pass down to your children?
My parents gave me a very strong sense of where I came from while also encouraging me to be interested in everywhere else. That balance has stayed with me: be rooted, but never closed. I want my children to feel proud of their own history and family without ever believing that their way is the only way. You can have a very strong identity and still remain completely open to other people.
What have you seen lately that has inspired you?
We designed Shell Song over a year ago, but being in Greece again recently I've been looking again at Minoan art and the extraordinary visual language of the ancient Aegean, the marine motifs, octopuses, shells, dolphins, the movement in everything. I have also recently been looking again at Safavid art and embroidery motifs from Kashan and Isfahan, which influenced our upcoming winter collection.
Muzungu Sisters champions slow fashion and heirloom quality. What is a treasured item in your own weekend wardrobe that has survived years of travel, parenting, and changing trends?
I have pieces of traditional jewellery and textile jackets I've collected on travels that I've owned for years and still wear constantly. Those are the things I become most attached to because I can remember exactly where I found them. Another item that has survived busy weekends as a nappy bag, laptop bag, travel bag and now stores kids water bottles and books and is perhaps the ultimate test of heirloom quality, is our Colombian mochila made in agave fibre.
What are your non-negotiable travel essentials?
A very large Muzungu Sisters shawl from Kashmir, because it eventually becomes a blanket, pillow, sarong, head covering or emergency child accessory depending on the journey. Comfortable flat shoes like leather moccasins or Vans trainers. I always leave some space in my suitcase or I pack a soft duffel bag folded in another piece of luggage. I love to explore new places by looking at local markets, concept stores. Even pharmacies and local convenience stores are sources of excitement. Years of sourcing have taught me that travelling with a perfectly packed full suitcase just does not work for me!
If you could design a dream 48-hour weekend getaway anywhere in the world right now, where would you go, who would you take, and what would be on the itinerary?
At this warmer time of the year, and if my starting point was in Europe/London, I would probably choose Positano and take my family. Swim before breakfast at Le Sireneuse, boat trip and very long lunch in Nerano at Lo Scoglio with friends who live nearby, children disappearing off with friends, sunset, too much food and everyone staying up later than they should. The next day: essentially the same thing with Lunch at Da Adolfo. There are so many fun itineraries to be made. Copenhagen, Athens, Paris. Likewise, if my departure point were in Dubai I would choose Jaipur or Bombay, and if my starting point was New York, I’d choose Iceland or Colombia. So much to explore on this wonderful planet.
From navigating football sidelines in London to tracing ancient Minoan and Safavid motifs for upcoming collections, Dana Alikhani’s approach to life and style is deeply rooted yet endlessly open. Whether she’s packing a trusted Kashmiri shawl for her next adventure or teaching her children the quiet value of mending what they own, Dana’s journey is an inspiring reminder to stay curious, stay grounded, and celebrate the rich tapestry of our shared world.
Image credit: Muzungu Sisters
