Misha Sattar on Snail Mail, Bollywood films, and Collaborating with Chappell Roan

Make it stand out

Misha Sattar gets the job done. As pop superstar Chappell Roan’s best friend and creative director, it’s impossible to look away from her stunning stage visuals and art that have helped cement the star into camp heaven. Take the creative direction behind Roan’s SNL debut or the pink bow merch that’s made its way into quintessential Lesbian Fashion.
From blending Dolly Parton with South Asian motifs to turning paper dolls into DIY art kits, Misha’s creative style is a high-energy fusion of Americana, desi nostalgia, and hands-on craft. Misha’s art isn’t about traditionally dissecting deep themes; it’s a technicolour escape that invites fans to cut, paste, and play along.
I catch up with Misha Sattar, a vision in a white turtleneck, over a fuzzy Zoom call. She is warm, with an easy kind of graciousness that could charm anyone. Throughout our call, we meander through the ins and outs of her creative practice while making connections through our experiences as South Asian creatives.

I catch up with Misha Sattar, a vision in a white turtleneck, over a fuzzy Zoom call. She is warm, with an easy kind of graciousness that could charm anyone. Throughout our call, we meander through the ins and outs of her creative practice while making connections through our experiences as South Asian creatives.

Sihaam: People joke about how creative direction is a made-up job. What is a creative director? What does your day-to-day look like?

Misha: I love it! It's a lot of moodboarding. I imagine it as professional Pinterest. It's a lot of vision boarding and then asking questions like: What are the textures? How does everything work together? I'm also a designer, so it goes hand in hand with branding and figuring out the look and feel of everything.

I love your art style because you experiment with mixed media a lot, from graphic design to illustration to collages, riso, and motion graphics. How did you develop your creative process?

I am obsessed with crafting. I’m always picking up a new craft; as soon as I learn it, I pick up another. I have a craft room with 100 unfinished crafts. I combined all of them when I started doing bigger projects, and I love doing things by hand. When I went to college and started studying design, my program was more digital-based, so I learned to mix in the handmade stuff because that's the origin of how I discovered design. I think digital art gets a bad rep because people assume it's cheating, but it's a fun tool that can add to handmade stuff.

Fuck, Marry, Kill: Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro

I'm going to kill Premier Pro. I have a hot take that anything you can do in Premiere Pro, you could also do it on After Effects, but not vice versa. I'm going to marry After Effects and then fuck Photoshop.

How did you meet Chappell [Roan]

On Instagram! I made a collage while studying abroad in Italy. It was a bunch of Southern-related things. A queer Instagram account reposted it on their page and I don’t know how they found it because it was such a small account. Thank God they credited me because Kayleigh happened to be following them. She saw it and followed me, and we would reply to each other's stories for a few years. It felt like an invisible string. We met to discuss creative direction because she needed a designer for some merch. And just like that, we were best friends.

That’s the power of Instagram mutuals and internet friends.

I agree. Every job I've ever gotten has somehow been credited to Instagram.

misha spice editor creative director chappell roan design polyester zine — **Dress & Bra: Erik Charlotte | Earrings: Vintage Fusion Jewelry | Shoes: Dolce & Gabbana**

I saw this video of Issa Rae talking about horizontal networking and how it isn’t necessarily about looking at the people above you but the ones on your level: Instagram mutuals and friends. What’s your favourite collaboration with Chappell?

My favourite thing we've made is the paper dolls. They're these illustrations that I did of Kayleigh and many different outfits. The fans get to combine and cut out the little pieces, and it's the first craft kit we've ever released. Everything very much stemmed from crafting. I'm excited to see how people combine the pieces into their paper dolls.

“I love to judge a book by its cover, that's how I buy books. I love the packaging. If I go to Erewhon for a snack, I pick it based on the packaging.”

I saw you’re gunning for the Grammy for Best Album Packaging on your spam account [lovekishakisha]. What’s that been like?

Kayleigh and I keep calling it our Untelevised Grammy because nobody knows this category exists. It’ll be so funny. But yes, it’s for Album Packaging. I think it's really fun that the album feels like a DIY experience for people to make theirs how they want it to look. I love to judge a book by its cover, that's how I buy books. I love the packaging. If I go to Erewhon for a snack, I pick it based on the packaging.

“Rookie is experiencing a renaissance because everyone who worked at Rookie is now in their mid-20s working for big brands, so I'm starting to see the little influences from Rookie in my day-to-day life.”

You had your start making collage kits for Rookie Mag. How did growing up on Tumblr and illustrating for Rookie influence the artist you are today?

Tumblr is the Bible. I honestly learned how to code on Tumblr, which is so funny, but during the Rookie Era, I was in high school getting to work with all these other cool teenagers who were so talented. It was so fun to get to grow up in that space. I never went to summer camp, so it felt like this fun little club. It influences everything I make. I still do the collage kits. It's just like such a heartfelt thing to me. It is such a blueprint. Rookie is experiencing a renaissance because everyone who worked at Rookie is now in their mid-20s working for big brands, so I'm starting to see the little influences from Rookie in my day-to-day life.

It was the first time young teenage girls felt like they had a voice and were taken seriously. Did you keep in touch with your Rookie friends? I saw that you love snail mail and have a lot of penpals in the industry.

The post office is just so special. I fell off of pen-paling because I was travelling this year, so I wasn't in one space for longer than two weeks. But I've gotten back into it. I recently exchanged mail and goodies with Martina Calv i- I’ve admired her work for ages. She used to make Instagram filters back when Instagram collaborated with Giphy. I remember being like: Who is she? She's the coolest person ever, and I've been following her since January 2018. She DM’d me saying, “Let’s PenPal!” and I haven’t looked back since.

Your work combines American visuals like Dolly Parton with quintessential South Asian motifs, like the Rooh Afza bottle or Rekha’s eyes. It's stuff that white people would see and be like, this is cute, but it really resonates with me as someone from South Asia. How did that come about?

A lot of times, I won't even realise I'm combining them. It happens seamlessly because I surround myself with whatever I'm making. I'll make a lot of Dolly [Parton] stuff because I'm listening to a lot of Dolly, or I'll use Kajol or Rekha in a collage after I've watched a movie that one of them is in. I love scrapbooking with what I'm consuming at the moment. That's why it's fun to go through my sketchbook or portfolio and know when I was obsessed with that movie. I love stereotypically American things because they are so funny; the American Dream is simply the souvenir shops on Broadway. I love going to souvenir shops and buying an I Heart New York or a Hollywood keychain. The contrast is fun and silly- especially with the textures and patterns in South Asian art, like block printing or vibrant sari silks.

“When I watch TV or consume media, I try to escape from the day-to-day reality. It's very camp. If I'm working, I'm turning on the Just Trish podcast, or I'm turning on Glee.”

What do you want your visuals to evoke for viewers?

I would describe it as seriously unserious. I love pop music and things that are happy, silly, cute, and fun. It's the opposite of what my professors in college wanted for my art. I would design something, and they'd ask me what it meant. I have many artists I look up to who are expressing more profound messages in their art. But my art is a space to escape into, where it's colourful and magical. When I watch TV or consume media, I try to escape from the day-to-day reality. It's very camp. If I'm working, I'm turning on the Just Trish podcast, or I'm turning on Glee.

What are your top four favourite Bollywood films?

Okay, I'm pulling up my Letterboxd. My first one is called The Queen of My Dreams. It's set across three timelines and juxtaposed with a movie about Sharmila Tagore, with the lead actress from the sex life of college girls. Of course. I'm going to say DDLJ. Maybe Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham—and my fourth favourite is Hum Aapke Hain Koun. I love showing Bollywood movies to my white friends because they need to see how vibrant everything is.

If you're sitting down to watch a Bollywood film, you'll get drama, action, romance, and it's a musical. Everyone needs to see at least one Bollywood film because it is genre-bending. My top pick has to be Om Shanti Om.

A classic! However, whenever I listen to a Karan Johar soundtrack, I feel like my life is a movie.

Misha Sattar on Snail Mail, Bollywood films, and Collaborating with Chappell Roan

“I love to judge a book by its cover, that's how I buy books. I love the packaging. If I go to Erewhon for a snack, I pick it based on the packaging.”

“Rookie is experiencing a renaissance because everyone who worked at Rookie is now in their mid-20s working for big brands, so I'm starting to see the little influences from Rookie in my day-to-day life.”

“When I watch TV or consume media, I try to escape from the day-to-day reality. It's very camp. If I'm working, I'm turning on the Just Trish podcast, or I'm turning on Glee.”

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