The "CBS Mornings" series "Changing the Game" highlights best friends Esha Kaul and Nikhita Khosa who started a business to celebrate and share their Indian culture. Last year, they launched their clothing brand, Chunni. They wanted to challenge traditional fashion norms and expand cultural representation using Indian tradition and American style.

Isha Kaul and Nikita Khosa, best friends from Indian descent, created Chunni to bridge Indian tradition and American style in fashion. Without formal backgrounds in fashion, they leveraged their expertise in finance and technology to launch the brand, which emphasizes handmade, ethically produced clothing crafted by artisans in Agra, India.

Chunni currently offers a single dress sold directly through its website, drawing inspiration from Bollywood and Y2K American fashion. The founders aim to expand the brand's reach through retail partnerships, aspiring to make Chunni an iconic Indian American label accessible to a diverse audience.

Best friends fuse Indian traditions with American style

In our series, Changing the Game, we highlight two best friends who started a business to celebrate and share their Indian culture. Last year, Isha Kaul and Nikita Khosa launched their clothing brand called Chani. They wanted to challenge traditional fashion norms and expand cultural representation, fusing Indian tradition and American style. Ladies, thank you so much for joining us. Good morning. Thanks for having us. We're so excited to be here. So your best friends, you grew up together. How did you come up with this idea? Because you said there was a gap in the market and you said you wanted this clothing brand and concept to be for everyone, no matter their background. Well, growing up in the US, Nikita and I felt that clothing was one of the biggest ways that we connected and shared our culture. We're actually both come from Indian descent, but we also had a lot of American inspiration. So we wanted something that fuses the both of them that we resonate with. And Chani means what? So Chani means in Hindi, it means scarf. Another word for it is dupatta. And it's one of those traditional pieces that you see in Indian clothing. So it was short, sweet, it really clicked with us. It resonated with our South Asian audience. So that's why we chose the name. But what's interesting is that part, but neither one of you have a fashion background because when I think of Indian fashion, I think of a sari. And I don't necessarily think of the color pink, but neither one of you have a fashion background. Yeah, so I work in finance. Isha actually works in tech here in New York City, but growing up, we loved fashion. So Isha would play with her mom's sewing machine, making fun pieces. I would sketch dresses for fun, but our business and tech backgrounds really help us run the business and stay keen on what our customers want. Yeah, you got the money and digital part all mapped out. You know, when it comes to fashion, there are some misconceptions about Indian fashion because it's fast fashion. There's some out there. You know, you guys said you wanted to step away from that because this is not that. 100%, yeah. So for us, that is so top of mind for us. As consumers ourselves, we realize that a lot of fast fashion, large brands were putting out Indian-inspired clothing that was inauthentically done, right? So it was using machine embroidery, and unfortunately their people were not working in ethical conditions. So here, 100% of our pieces are handmade by, and hand-beaded, every single bead, by our team of artists in Agra, India. But right now, you just have this one dress, but you're dreaming big, you're dreaming big. Ultimately, what do you want? And tell me about the color pink. I'm still hung up on pink. Okay, so a lot of times, American Indian clothing can be looked at through a very narrow lens. Right, but we drew inspiration from classic 90 Bollywood films like one, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gum, where Pooja, played by Kareena Kapoor, wears these pink colors. It's bold, it's traditional. And then also the American fashion. So we pull from Y2K era, where people wore flirty, light outfits, something like Carrie Bradshaw might wear. There you go. I love that. So you're dreaming big, what's your dream now? Yeah, so we see a lot. Because you're off to a great start. Oh, thank you. Thank you. Long-term, we see Chunny becoming an iconic Indian American brand, right? So right now we're only available DTC through our website, but we would love to partner with retailers and the right partners in the future to really grow and scale the business and become accessible to everyone everywhere. So right now when we do photo shoots on the streets of New York, we get stopped by so many people. Yeah, they say they love the dress, they're asking where they can get it. So we'd love to be accessible to people like that who may not see us online. Okay, Chunny, Chunny, what is it? I want to say it right. Chunny. Chunny, Chunny, got it, got it, got it. Thank you ladies so much. That does it for us today.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he would “take up arms” in the face of threats issued by US President Donald Trump.

Bogotá

Colombia vows to defend its sovereignty amid Trump’s military threats

Israeli forces storm Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank soon after students begin a sit-in in solidarity with jailed Palestinians.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Israeli school assault wounds dozens of Palestinians in West Bank raid

The White House says U.S. President Donald Trump and his team are considering a range of options in efforts to acquire Greenland as the ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro continues to reverberate in the Western Hemisphere.

Washington

Trump sees acquiring Greenland as a national security priority

The United States for the first time backed a broad coalition of Ukraine's allies in vowing to provide security guarantees that leaders said would include binding commitments to support the country if it is attacked by Russia again.

Paris

Ukraine Invasion

U.S. backs security guarantees for Ukraine at summit of Kyiv's allies

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed deep concern over recent U.S. military action in Venezuela, calling for the immediate release of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

Soweto

Ramaphosa urges UN action after U.S. capture of Maduro

At least 25 people have been killed in Iran during the first nine days of protests that started in the bazaar of Tehran over the plunging value of the currency and soaring inflation, according to rights groups. This video contains graphic images.

Tehran

Rights groups say at least 25 dead in Iran protests

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Tension rises in Colombia after Maduro’s capture

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New York

Maduro pleads 'not guilty' in U.S. drug trafficking case

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Crans-Montana

Swiss Alps bar not inspected for five years prior to deadly fire

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Beit Jinn

Israeli army vehicles enter southern Syria ahead of Paris talks

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Kyiv

Ukraine's security service chief resigns amid Zelenskyy's reshuffle

The capture of Nicolás Maduro is prompting strong reaction from Venezuelans in the United States, and those who fled across the border into Colombia. Lilia Luciano has more on the two women vying to lead the country. Then, Cristian Benavides reports on opposing viewpoints on U.S. intervention.

Caracas

Venezuela Strikes

Two women vying to run Venezuela amid opposing viewpoints

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Cincinnati

Vice President JD Vance's Ohio home broken into

Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty Monday to federal drug trafficking and weapons charges, days after they were captured by U.S. military forces in a stunning overnight operation and brought to New York City for prosecution.

Manhattan

Maduro, wife plead not guilty to charges in New York

A Paris court on Monday (January 5) found 10 people guilty of the cyber-harassment of France's first lady, Brigitte Macron, for spreading false claims that she is a transgender woman who was born male.

Ten convicted for cyber-bullying France's Brigitte Macron

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Trump says U.S. "in charge" of Venezuela

A Paris ​court on Monday found ten people guilty ⁠of the cyber-harassment of France's first lady, Brigitte Macron, for spreading false claims she is a transgender ​woman who was born a man. The court convicted all defendants to sentences ranging from a cyberbullying awareness training to 8-month suspended prison sentences.

Ten people found guilty of cyberbullying Brigitte Macron

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is set to appear in a U.S. court on Monday (January 5) on drug charges after his controversial capture by American forces. President Donald Trump says he could order another strike if Venezuela’s interim government doesn’t cooperate.

Trump warns of second strike as Maduro faces U.S. drug charges

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Maduro held in same jail as Sean "Diddy" Combs, Luigi Mangione

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Police identify all 40 victims of Swiss bar fire

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U.S justifies Venezuela operation to capture Nicolás Maduro

As Venezuela grapples with the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the country’s top court has named Delcy Rodríguez as the acting president. The 56-year-old has served as Venezuela’s vice-president since 2018.

Venezuela’s top court names new president after Maduro’s ouster

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Pyongyang

North Korea carries out new ballistic missiles test

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Palmyra

British, French warplanes strike suspected IS facility in Syria

At least 30 people have been killed and several others abducted after gunmen attacked a market in Nigeria’s Niger State, according to police. The attackers stormed Kasuwan Daji market in Demo village on Saturday afternoon, setting stalls on fire and looting food.

Niger

At least 30 killed in market attack in Nigeria’s Niger State

Pope Leo has expressed deep concern over the recent U.S. raid in Venezuela, urging that the well-being of the Venezuelan people must take precedence over all other considerations.

Rome

Pope voices concern over U.S. raid in Venezuela, calls for peace

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was in a New York jail Saturday, hours after American special forces seized and flew him out of his country — which President Donald Trump said would come under effective U.S. control.

Venezuela's Maduro arrives in New York after being abducted by U.S.

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Trump says U.S will ‘run’ Venezuela after Maduro seized

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Breakdown