Where Are They Now: Nadia Boujarwah of Dia & Co

In honor of Women’s Equality Day, we are celebrating strong women doing amazing things by catching up with some of our favorite trailblazers.

It is a rare thing when you come across a brand that embodies the change you want to see in the world: enter, Dia & Co. After checking in with Founder Nadia Boujarwah, it is clear they are paving the way for what inclusive fashion should look like.

Dia & Co has come a long way not only in the evolution of their brand but what they have meant to women everywhere. With a focus on listening and learning, Nadia is committed to growing a thriving business by sticking to her priorities and doing what she knows is beneficial— financially, physically, and emotionally — for her team and her community.

We caught up with Nadia to see how things were going at Dia & Co, what she’s accomplished, and what the future holds. From what we’ve gleaned, it sounds like a fashion future we can get on board with.

How has your business grown? Have you found that your work has evolved at all? If so, how?

Building Dia has been a thrilling and extraordinarily meaningful journey. In the last five years, we have expanded from serving a small group of “beta testers” to a diverse community of millions of women in almost every zip code of the country. The growth in the business has necessitated constant learning for me personally: from management and leadership to my relationship with my own body.

Have there been any pivotal moments or obstacles that you have had to face? How did you cope?

I lost my mother to ovarian cancer in February, it was devastating. We were very close, and she was the driving force for so many things in my life. After she died, thinking about getting back to work, and my life, was honestly a challenge. For most things, I probably wouldn’t get back to it for a while, but Dia & Co was different. It was grounding, and it felt comforting to come back to our mission. It demonstrated to me the power of working on something that drives so much meaning in your life. That realization filled me with gratitude — the only antidote to grief I have found — and made it possible for me to pick myself back up and start moving forward.

What are some of your favorite successes from the past few years?

We have had so many wonderful moments at Dia in the past five years. From being the first brand to show exclusively in plus-sizes at New York City Fashion Week, to working with long time favorite designers like Betsey Johnson. The most powerful moments, though, have always been seeing the impact we can have in the lives of our customers. One particularly special memory came when a customer asked us for a high-resolution image of our logo so she could have it tattooed on her arm! She said that she wanted to always remember the way that Dia made her feel and it blew us away.

What’s next for you? Personally and/or professionally.

Every chapter of Dia has brought new challenges and learnings, and the 2020 chapter has certainly risen to the top of that list.

Currently, we are focusing on adjustments, listening and learning as the world constantly changes. As we look forward, we want to make sure that we are protecting our team, doing our part to drive social change, and continuing to bring our mission to life within our community.