“It’s a good investment,” Arjun Rampal quipped during a recent interaction with Rhea Chakraborty as he sat down with his fiancee Gabriella Demetriades and spoke about her fashion brand, Deme. Gabriella founded the brand 12 years ago, in 2012, and admitted that she truly got her due only after the label found its target audience overseas — especially after international supermodel Gigi Hadid wore her brand recently.
But who is Gabriella Demetriades, and how did she go on to create one of the fashion brands to look out for? Let’s take a closer look.
Gabriella Demetriades’ beginning in modelling career
Gabriella was born and brought up in South Africa. She studied fashion design and always aspired to start her own label. While working as a stylist, a photographer spotted her and suggested that she try modelling. In a conversation with Bombay Times, Gabriella admitted that she saw this as a good opportunity to travel the world and also earn money for her dream business. She soon ended up meeting an Indian modelling agency and landed in India for modelling assignments.
Gabriella was a Miss Indian Premier League (IPL) Bollywood 2009 contestant and was later chosen as one of FHM’s “100 Sexiest Women In The World” contenders. She acted in a promo song for the Malayalam film Red Wine, titled Neelakasham Kaividum. She also appeared in a music video opposite Aditya Narayan in his single Tu Hi Pyar Hai. Gabriella made her acting debut in the film Sonali Cable. However, she soon quit acting to focus entirely on fashion.
How did Gabriella meet Arjun Rampal?
Since Arjun Rampal was also a successful model before making his way into Bollywood, he and Gabriella had several common friends, which is how they ended up meeting. Sharing how she met Arjun, Gabriella said, “We have a few mutual friends, so, I would end up meeting him at social occasions along the way. The first time I met him was in 2018. We kind of hit it off from there. And with time, the relationship blossomed into something meaningful. Arjun is a gentleman. Our love for work, creativity, ambition and fitness are the things that we have in common. We both are also very family oriented.”
Gabriella admitted that Arjun has been supportive of her business venture since the very beginning. “He has been very supportive towards my fashion endeavour. He has been a supermodel himself for many years and is incredibly stylish. He has a great taste in fashion. He is always on the lookout for what I am making and wearing. I value his opinion. Having said that, we don’t mix our workspace or interfere in each other’s profession,” she said.
For the unversed, Arjun and Gabriella began dating in 2018. They have two sons — Arik, born in April 2019, and Ariv, born in 2023. The couple surprised their fans when they announced their engagement on Rhea Chakraborty’s podcast on Sunday. Arjun was previously married to Mehr Jesia. They had two daughters together, Mahikaa and Myra. After 20 years of marriage, they announced their separation and were granted a divorce in 2019.
Gabriella Demetriades and her brand Deme
Gabriella founded Deme in 2012. Deme is a premium-end, ready-to-wear women’s clothing label and operates as an internet-first brand. According to Tracxn, the annual revenue of Deme stands at Rs 2.20 crore as of March 31, 2024. Its top competitors include brands such as The Label Life, NNNOW and Lulu & Sky.
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The brand’s collections often include dresses, gowns, co-ord sets and tailored pieces that focus on clean lines, bold silhouettes and sensual cuts. The collections are priced between Rs 25,000, with some statement pieces going as high as Rs 1,25,000.
Deme’s Gigi moment
Gigi Hadid wore an olive-green “Suzie” gown by Deme at her sister Alana Hadid’s wedding in late 2025. Gigi’s bridesmaid dress made headlines as fans were surprised to see the international supermodel wearing a relatively affordable outfit. On the brand’s official website, the gown worn by Gigi is priced at Rs 40,830.
Along with Deme, Gabriella also co-founded VRTT Vintage in 2019. The brand later merged with Luxury Pop and now sells authenticated, pre-owned luxury fashion items, including designer bags, accessories and clothing.
‘My brand exploded globally’
While speaking to Rhea Chakraborty, Gabriella admitted that she eventually found the right customer base for her brand overseas. She said, “It has been 12 years, and it is just at that stage where I am due a little bit of success. It is also focus, before I was doing a lot of other things. I was still modelling trying to do some acting and many other things at one point. I told Arjun that I either need to do this properly and give up all the other stuff or figure out a new career path. Arjun told me to focus on this more and that was the best advice that I have taken.”
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She added, “Then it kind of exploded, it went global, which I hadn’t even thought of before. We found our audience, and we found that it wasn’t necessarily in India. That just completely changed the game. From there on, it has been a learning process.”
