The Presidential Suite at Fairmont Mumbai feels deliberately unhurried. The room is large and calm, never overcrowded, allowing people to move freely, talk to one another, and take it all in. A bar anchors one side of the room, a grazing table hums quietly nearby, and along another wall, a long display showcases D’YAVOL X’s new eyewear collection under focused lighting. Phones are put away. There’s no rush to document. Just twenty journalists, a handful of PR professionals, one photographer, and Aryan Khan–present, composed, and quietly in control.

He moves through the room with ease, speaking candidly about everything from the design process to humbly accepting praise for The B***ds of Bollywood, even revealing that he’s already working on season two—which he believes will take at least two more years to release.  

For those of you who’re unaware, D’YAVOL X is the luxury streetwear brand founded by Shah Rukh Khan, Aryan Khan, Leti Blagoeva, and Bunty Singh. They’re known for apparel drops featuring everything from hoodies to leather jackets that sell out within hours. Now, the brand is venturing into the luxury eyewear space for the first time, where the pieces are a vision shared by Shah Rukh and the visuals are left up to Aryan.  

When it’s time, he gathers everyone, shares notes on directing the promo about how almost everything was shot against a blue screen and props from previous shoots, and offers anecdotes about how smooth these things tend to be when your leading man happens to be one of the GOATs of acting and your father. The lights dim, and the screen fills with Shah Rukh Khan, dressed ruggedly in denims and a tank, walking in the scorching desert sun. A drop of his sweat falls on the ground, and from it rises a pair of D’YAVOL X sunglasses.  

Few actors have turned sunglasses into cultural shorthand quite like Shah Rukh Khan. Over decades, eyewear has become inseparable from his on-screen personas—romantic, ruthless, revolutionary. From the lover boy days of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to the sleek menace of Don, the raw swagger of Pathaan and the commanding duality of Jawan, his sunglasses have never simply completed a look—they have defined it. They’ve functioned as visual signatures, emotional armour and cultural markers. It’s this deeply personal relationship with eyewear that organically led D’YAVOL X into its newest category.

As co-founder, Leti Blagoeva, explains, “Eyewear is one of the strongest extensions of personal style, and it fits seamlessly into the visual world we’ve built. From a business perspective, it allows us to enter a global category that genuinely rewards craftsmanship and design integrity, both central to D’YAVOL X. It’s also a product people engage with every day, which gives us an opportunity to deepen our brand presence while still maintaining the sense of exclusivity that defines everything we create.”

That thinking is precisely why this collection resists being dismissed as celebrity merchandise. In a market crowded with logo-heavy launches and novelty-driven collaborations, D’YAVOL X eyewear is deliberately restrained. The frames aren’t built on overt references or recognisable cues; they’re designed to stand on silhouette, craftsmanship and construction. The nostalgia is there—but it’s embedded, not advertised.

That restraint is anchored by Shah Rukh Khan’s own involvement in the creative process. Far from lending just his name, he was deeply engaged in shaping the collection—bringing decades of visual instinct and an acute understanding of how eyewear reads on and off screen. His influence ensures the frames carry cinematic memory without ever feeling like a costume–for example, the D’yavol ‘Now-Then’ frames are a modern and high-quality reiteration of the glasses SRK wore as Raj in DDLJ.  

However, craftsmanship sits at the core of the collection. Every frame is handcrafted in Japan using pure titanium, select premium acetates, and ZEISS lenses. The process was exacting—prioritising weight balance, comfort, and precision—resulting in eyewear that feels as good as it looks. As per Blagoeva, the collection is targetted towards those who “appreciate minimalism but demand precision and those who value craftsmanship, gravitas and a sense of quite luxury.” She adds, “Whether you’re drawn to subtle details or bold construction, the collection is designed for anyone who wants their eyewear to reflect a refined point of view.”

What becomes increasingly clear, the longer you spend time with Aryan Khan, is that D’YAVOL X is shaped as much by restraint as it is by intent. He doesn’t over-explain, nor does he rush to define the brand beyond what it needs to be. During our conversation, in a moment of genuine curiosity, I naively ask him what ‘D’YAVOL’ actually means. “The devil in Slavic”, he replies, almost matter-of-factly. The logo, he adds, represents the devil’s crown—constructed from ‘666’ written in Roman numerals. It’s a detail he shares without flourish, but it quietly reveals the brand’s underlying codes: symbolic, controlled and unapologetically dark. In a landscape crowded with celebrity brands chasing immediacy, Aryan’s approach feels slower and more deliberate—less about spectacle, more about authorship. It’s this measured creative clarity that naturally leads us into the conversation about the new eyewear collection, and how D’YAVOL X continues to evolve under his watch.

In conversation with Aryan Khan:  
 

Q. After streetwear and spirits, what was the thought behind venturing into eyewear next?

Aryan Khan: From the very beginning, D’YAVOL was never meant to be confined to a single category. We built it as a universe where any vertical we enter must meet the same philosophy of uncompromising quality, craft, and intentional design. Eyewear felt like a natural progression for us. It’s a product with history, precision, and personality; it demands respect for materials and craftsmanship. Those are values we believe in deeply. So expanding into eyewear wasn’t about adding another category, it was about expressing the D’YAVOL ethos through a new medium.

Q. Tell us a bit about the design process.

AK: We started with silhouettes - strong outlines, clean geometry, and frames that command presence without being loud. From there, it became a technical process: materials, construction, weight balance, lens clarity. Every detail was refined through multiple iterations, all with Japan’s meticulous craftsmanship at the center. It was a long process, but the precision was worth it.

Q. Which is your favourite pair among this collection?

AK: Each pair has a different personality, but Shift is the one I gravitate toward. It’s sharp, disciplined, and architectural - exactly the kind of design language I enjoy.

Q. What was SRK’s reaction to your ad concept for the first collection?

AK: He was excited. He has a very refined instinct for visuals, so his feedback helped elevate the concept even further. He really connected with the subtlety and mood of the D’YAVOL X world, which made the collaboration feel completely natural.

Q. Did you draw inspiration from any specific film characters, subcultures, or music?

AK: Not directly - but I’m naturally drawn to characters and aesthetics that are restrained yet powerful. Clean silhouettes, minimal palettes, and moods that carry weight without theatrics. That sensibility does feed into the brand.

Q. If you had to come up with a tagline that didn’t have to be PR approved for this collection, what would that be?

AK: If I could, I would have loved to use the tagline ‘Don’t want the son? Use protection.’

Looking ahead, the brand’s ambitions remain measured and intentional. As Leti Blagoeva puts it, “We see D’YAVOL X evolving into a multifaceted luxury house—one that moves fluidly across fashion, lifestyle, and collectible objects while maintaining a clear, cohesive point of view. Our focus is on building slowly and intentionally, entering only those categories where we can genuinely elevate design and create something meaningful. The future is expansive, but our growth will always be driven by purpose rather than speed.”

The eyewear collection is priced between ₹36,000 and ₹41,000, crafted in small batches, and released exclusively online through their website. True to the D’YAVOL X philosophy, it isn’t about scale—it’s about precision, patience, and enduring design.