It’s tricky to pinpoint when Don’t Let Disco shifted from being an IYKYK cult favorite jewelry line to the go-to source for cool fashion girls looking to accessorize in a carefree, “but, I didn’t try to look this good” kind of way.

Maybe it’s when ahead-of-the-curve insiders began stockpiling the label’s playful pieces mid-pandemic. Back then, founder and designer Ashley Moubayed often utilized nostalgia-inducing, almost-childlike beads (think playful fruit, smiley faces, and even Legos) to create a sort of irreverent happy-kitsch vibe that brought reprieve in the anxiety-creep of Covid restrictions. Or, perhaps, you could say things really took off later, when our post-lockdown lives expanded and so did the brand’s designs: the look became more about a canny mix of color and texture than symbols; the styles were both an apt fit for a brewing handbag charm trend (and far chicer than a Labubu), and the sudden industry-wide focus on traditional craft techniques, like weaving and embroidery. Either way, once you factor in a few buzzy projects with influential partners like The RealReal and Sotheby’s — and, no big deal, a spot as a 2025 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist — the company seems to be in the midst of a moment.

But the elusive, hard-to-chart rise of Don’t Let Disco (which comes from the phrase “Don’t Let This Go” — get it?) bodes well for its future. Unlike so many fly-by-night enterprises that blow up merely by being in the right place at the right time, Moubayed has slowly and organically grown her passion project into a business by sticking to a clear purpose: to make jewelry with emotion and soul behind it. By starting small with limited drops, and seeking out shoppers with whom her work most resonates, the designer has laid a lasting foundation. Moreover, because she’s fostered relationships with her customers over time, her work is in constant conversation with those who buy and wear it. Don’t Let Disco has a loyalty program in which members receive reduced prices, special gifts on the anniversary of their first purchase and select holidays, and early access to new designs. (These are delivered via the kind of intel sheet you’d find at an auction house — a nod to Moubayed’s former gig as the marketing director of Sotheby’s.)

Then, there’s the matter of the beading bars, a series of IRL jewelry-making experiences Moubayed began hosting a few years ago. “We have individuals that will help guide you through creating your piece and make sure you walk away feeling really proud,” she tells me on a September afternoon over Zoom. Her laptop screen is broken and my 3-year-old is home sick from day care, so we are speaking with our respective cameras off and frequent interruptions from my daughter. I’m struck by how calm and clear-headed she sounds — not only because my preschooler keeps barging into our conversation, but because Don’t Let Disco just wrapped its first-ever New York Fashion Week presentation one day prior. The whole affair sounds like it required a lot on the planning and execution front: The new collection was presented alongside a full dinner party-inspired tablescape of objets d’art, like shrimp cocktail on ice made from wooden and clear beads, and a well-stocked beading bar for guests to partake in.

“Everything is so digital now, and people love the unpredictability of a live event,” says Moubayed of the gathering, explaining that she feels a yearning from people to be part of something bigger than themselves. “Yesterday completely [reflected] that, and I’m just so thrilled with how everything went. And it was funny: My husband was there, too, and he overheard a couple girls chatting and one was like, ‘I’m so happy you dragged me here.’” At this, I feel a deep stirring pang of FOMO. As someone who managed to both enter the wrong time and place for the event in my calendar (did I mention one of my kids was sick all week?), I completely missed all the fun. Beyond Moubayed’s enticing recounting of the festivities, several industry friends effusively shared the joy they felt sitting down in the midst of an over-crammed schedule to make something with their hands.

The enthusiasm of my colleagues sums up so much about how and why Moubayed has created something that resonates in this era in which we are increasingly disillusioned with the false comfort provided by the apps on our phones. Jewelry, in general, offers a needed tether to the tangible world, but Don’t Let Disco jewelry also happens to be incredibly enticing. One can’t help but be seduced by the line’s arresting shapes and visually sumptuous materials, which are lovingly sourced from unexpected corners of the globe. One piece might be derived from a box of estate sale treasures; another could come from beads found at an African market. This ensures that every purchase is totally one-of-a-kind, although pieces within a run of one design are similar in shape and mood.

Everything to come out of Don’t Let Disco’s Brooklyn-based studio, however, is a direct reflection of Moubayed’s clear and unwavering aesthetic preferences. “This probably goes against what someone would tell you to do as a creative director and entrepreneur, but I base [my designs] a lot on my taste and what I like,” says Moubayed. She explains that Don’t Let Disco, from the beginning, has been about telling stories — first her own, and later, other people’s — so of course it’s not going to look like anything else out there on the market. And that’s how she wants it: “Personally, I’ve always been that individual who doesn’t want what anyone else has,” she says. “Like, if you send me a list of ‘Five Pairs Of Shoes The Cool Girls Are Wearing,’ I’ll look at that and not buy any of those pairs of shoes.”

The irony here, I find myself thinking, is that Don’t Let Disco has reached a certain level of picky-fashion-person approval that it’s likely to land on more than a few “things the cool girls are wearing” lists of its own. No design entity wins the attention and mentoring of the Council of Fashion Designers of America without garnering a hefty amount of attention along the way. The downside is that recognition brings a certain expectation that can mess with even the most focused of minds.

Moubayed certainly had her moments of self-doubt when beginning to work on her collection for Spring 2026. “When you have a major spotlight on you, you start comparing yourselves to other people,” says Moubayed, noting that the extra layer of outside attention oftentimes distracted from her internal compass. Sounding reflective, she tells me a story of her days running track in high school she frequently harkened back to these last few months: A new coach, one with very fancy credentials, had given her a few pointers before a race — and she lost. “And I didn’t often lose,” she muses. “I always think back on that: It’s like you can’t listen to everything and every bit of feedback that someone gives you.”

This insight, along with a healthy dose of instinct following, helped guide her through which outside noise was worth listening to, and what she needed to politely ignore. And on the other side of all these mental gymnastics? Moubayed found some of her most compelling work yet: the “Totem” collection, which features a series of sleek metal collars, bracelets, earrings, and handbag decorations with tassels of rock crystal, wood, coral, and clay. There’s both an elegance and sense of adventure to the lineup — it’s all very vibrant and fun, but in a quiet, self-assured kind of way.

Don’t Let Disco’s Spring 2026 selection is what you’d expect the most confident and interesting person at a party to be wearing, whether they actually are comfortable with themselves or just forcefully putting on their blinders and hustling their way to greatness. Because, as Moubayed has proved, there’s a very fine line between the two and, so long as you’re propelling yourself forward, it doesn’t really matter which side you sit on. “I have noticed that whenever something is really challenging for me, what comes out on the other end is always something I’m so proud of,” she says. Even though I can’t see her face, I can tell she is smiling. “I’m like, man, that was so hard, but this looks so good.”