Posts Tagged ‘fashion design’

Venture: Chehhel, designer label based in Pune

Designer: Nikita Gundesha

When a young girl from a traditional Indian family decided to strike out on her own, her quest for an identity as a designer in an intensely competitive market was bound to be chequered with good and bad experiences.

Her journey from an apprentice to a designer who came in to her own is an inspiring story for all women turning to business. 

The beginning…

 Chehhel, a designer label from the proverbial new kid on the block, Nikita Gundesha opened its doors to the fashion conscious crowd of Pune city in March 2010.  The name –Chhehel means ‘a cute bubbly girl’, says Nikita and the store stocks clothes for women.  Smart branding decision there as the name reflects the inherent qualities Nikita wanted her brand to embody. 

A graduate in fashion design from SOFT (The School of Fashion Technology) in Pune, Nikita started out by working for other designers.  She trained with a boutique called “Moushamis” and worked at another boutique called Jini’s before striking out on her own.  Garnering firsthand experience on the job is important, it gives you valuable insights before you take the plunge. 

Getting Over the Initial Hitches…

Establishing her own label and store at the young age of 22 with just one year of work experience and another year of freelancing behind her was a little difficult to begin with.  Her family and friends, particularly her parents guided and supported her in this endeavor and thus Chehhel opened at 845, Dastur Meher Road, Camp, Pune.   Your support system keeps you motivated and charged up even when things are not so good. 

When You Start Out…a number of things grapple for your attention…prioritise and you will be successful.

Nikita found the entire process of starting the store both exciting and challenging.  Establishment of the store, designing its look and style while creating designs to put on the rack when the store opened were major activities that clamored for her attention all at the same time.  She attributes her success at completing these tasks to the blessings of Almighty God.

In a designer store, “the look” matters…

Nikita’s store is a warm and friendly place.  The ambience is good and the store is done up in shades of grey, white and violet. The wooden flooring brings warmth to the room which has two medium-sized lounge sofas on one side; these are used to seat customers across the table for discussions on design and easy fabric selection.

The clothes on display include a range of unstitched fabrics, sarees, kurtis, tunics, salwar kameez and blouses arranged in various sections.  There is a trial room and niches in the wall display a range of handbags. 

The range of products on display and affordable prices are the highlights of Nikita’s label.  Sarees are her forte and they come in vibrant colors, intricate designs and materials with embroidery done in many styles including jamewadi, zardozi, sequins and velvet appliqué.  Nikita does Indo-Western designs for clients who request her to do such designs but her main focus is on ethnic designs.

Most of the salwar kameezes are custom-made and there aren’t too many of them on display. The kurtis were a mix of casual and party-wear. There are a lot of Anarkalis in shades of white and off-white but there are a number of versatile kurtis that can be paired with jeans as well as churidars.

A reasonably good number of samples help customers to get an idea about the kind of work you do.  Keep a few handy even if it means blocking some amount in inventory. 

Price it right…

The price range on offer includes:

Sarees Rs.3, 000/- onwards, kurtis: Rs.400/- onwards and salwar kameez: Rs. 900/-.

In a competitive market, pricing makes all the difference.  Market skimming or market penetration…it’s your call!

What’s your USP?

The young designer says her USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is “My designs, creativity, value for customer’s money and my hard work.”

A well designed logo and brand name are her strengths but only second to her flair for design. 

A vision and how you turn it in to reality matters…

Her vision for her venture is to work towards improving her graph of business success but since her venture is a new one she feels that she has to work on marketing.  She feels that marketing strategies would help her in positioning her store better. 

Don’t be afraid to try new things…

She says, “It is very important to experiment with color combinations, designs, fabrics and concepts as a designer. Most of the time, I experiment with my designs and but when it’s for a particular client, getting their approval is very important.”   

How to build client confidence?  Focus on “Them”

Having worked as a freelancer for one year and making her contacts, Nikita now has her regular clientele, with the number of customers growing steadily.   Her ability to design a garment keeping in mind clients and their budgets goes down really well with customers who come to the store as walk-ins. 

At times doubt can plague an entrepreneur…

When asked about her road map for business in future Nikita did not have a definite plan in mind.  Being young and belonging to a traditional family she feels uncertain about the future.  Despite the fact that she would like to take her business further whether or not this will happen she says will depend on her future husband, his family and their outlook. 

Tech Savvy?

Being tech savvy is not an option it is a necessity. 

The store does not have a website and while Nikita has thought about using Facebook to promote her designs she has not implemented the idea so far.  She feels she is doing her bit for others by designing clothes that please them and doing good work. 

Belonging to a tech savvy generation she uses mobile advertising to inform her clients about new offers and collections as and when they are available at the store. 

Your small step counts…Doing her bit for the environment she uses only paper bags to pack her designs and deliver them to customers. 

A word of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs…Her advice for future entrepreneurs is… “Future entrepreneurs must be focused and confident of making the right career choices. They should undertake career planning seriously.   Competition is increasing day by day hence they should avoid being careless and lazy about work.  However they must enjoy life as well and last but not the least make their parents feel proud of them.”

Image Courtesy: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2125