K. Tavlinne
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Masala
Creative Direction
Photography by Vashnie Persaud
For the set, we used bold red fabrics to saturate the frame in heat and vibrancy. I styled the look with a blend of half corporate attire and South Asian influences, threading the contrast directly onto the body. Subtle nods to famous brand names were worked into the styling and props, each reimagined as “masala” — envisioning a world where our spice, our culture, is no longer exoticized but fully normalized. The result is an image that confronts stereotypes while celebrating the richness of a blended heritage.
Masala — Bold, spicy, and rolling off the tongue, Masala is a statement on identity, perception, and belonging. The shoot was inspired by a personal moment — stepping into the corporate world for an interview and being reduced to a label, marked “Indian” without acknowledgment of the Indo-Caribbean identity I carry. I wanted to reclaim and reframe that experience through imagery.
Using deep red fabrics as the backdrop, I layered subtle props of famous brands, each relabeled as “masala.” This rebranding imagined a world where masala is no longer exotic or othered, but normalized, integrated, and celebrated. The heat and vibrancy of the set mirrored the complexity of our heritage — a blend of South Asian roots transformed by Caribbean influence — challenging the viewer to taste, see, and name us in our fullness.
