A report by the India Business of Fashion Report pegged the India's apparel market’s impending growth at 11 percent and concluded that the sector would be worth $85 billion by 2021. Fashion entrepreneur Masumi Mewawalla, Founder of Pink Peacock Couture and Emblaze agrees. “In my personal opinion, the Indian fashion industry has been emerging copiously and will continue to grow leaps and bounds over the years with rising western influence, and changing tastes and preferences of consumers,” says Manumi.
The young business women who heads two successful brands Pink Peacock Couture, a bridal couture boutique and Emblaze, an online E-Commerce portal that provides high fashion solutions at affordable price points highlights the impact created by technology on the Indian fashion and apparel market. She adds, “In recent years, technology has been dabbling in the fashion industry. And especially with e-commerce in full force, it would play a crucial role in shaping the industry’s future. The markets have leaped all boundaries. With the help and power of artificial intelligence and social media, the consumers are quickly aware of the latest trends, which are more than ever, now, fast-pacing.”
As India glides towards becoming a digitally sound market, Masumi is bullish on the growth. “With India's growing digital outreach and supply chain infrastructure, accessibility is tapping to all geographic corners. There is no doubt the industry will expand its wings further wide and unfurl global importance,” she adds.
Early Beginnings
An affable leader, Masumi takes us through her initial journey, “My father always says, ‘do it and then learn’. He’s the one who inspired me to be an entrepreneur and it was as early as age 3!” Masumi’s tryst with creativity began at a very early age. She started out as a child actor for various television series, then moved on to theatre, dancing and wedding planning. A postgraduate in commerce from Mumbai, Masumi caught the fashion bug while designing a saree for her mother’s birthday. After that, there was no looking back; she had found her calling.
Speaking about her journey towards creating two fashion brands without any formal training in the respective field, she says, “It has been a learning process and its feels like I started just yesterday. Due to the lack of formal education in the sector, this journey was mostly unplanned and uncertain, but experiencing and working with all departments that form a fashion brand, sometimes by myself gave me a lot of knowledge and strength.”
Not one to be fazed by challenges Masumi adds, “Failures were not inevitable, but hanging there looked like the only option, patience kept building on me and made me who I am today. One thing I’ve defined to myself, being a designer doesn’t take away the commercial aspects of the business, hence I started a uniform line called Masuraj garments such that I never experience a season slack in my business. Today when I impart my learnings and experiences at fashion colleges, it reassures me about the discussion I took.”
Words of Wisdom from an Entrepreneur
“The journey for entrepreneurs is full of challenges and enlightening lessons. The first lesson which is also the first step, that I learnt about entrepreneurship was taking that leap of faith! To quit whatever else that you are doing, and to dive into this world of uncertainty. I had read this somewhere a long time ago and it is stuck with me since; ‘If you choose not to decide, you’ve still made a choice’! So, for those seeking advice and still contemplating entrepreneurship, the first step and perhaps the hardest, is to take the plunge.”
She further adds, “The next and the most important lesson is that there’s always more work to be done than there isn’t enough time in the day or people to do it. So, one must foster a do-whatever-it-takes attitude to keep making incremental progress every day. It keeps the ship sailing. Lastly, success is not about that one big move, success is rather made up of a hundred small efforts which you have to make every single day.”
Masumi believes that creativity is not learnt not from sitting in a classroom, but by experiencing and applying creative thinking processes. She encourages aspiring business leaders and women to take the first step in, “I encourage all the aspiring entrepreneurs to take the leap of faith and garner courage and perseverance to keep the wheels rolling every single day.”
Learning from her own experiences, Masumi is creating her own success story.
