My idea of learning means jumping into action. Just have the mindset to do something and be willing to make small mistakes!
1. Tell us about your background and journey.
Just like any other kid I had my own dreams. From my childhood I somehow was fascinated towards clothing and from day one wanted to become Something which I did not know what to call it then, but later I realized people call it a Fashion Designer. I was so deeply in love with designing of clothes that I used to lock my door when I was an 8 year old kid and play dress up games in my computer when I was supposed to take a shower and go to school.
When I was 14 years old, I was over thinking on how to become a Fashion Designer but I didn’t know where to start from! I was desperately looking for answers at that point, where I finally came across a relative who showed me a path. Through him I discovered that there would be colleges exclusively to become a Fashion Designer and I was more than happy to know this fact, because education now can get much more interesting for me!
Then a time came where I had to join 11th grade. There is a popular tradition in Hyderabad. Either you should do Engineering or MBBS. If you do anything other than these you’re under-qualified, or if you do something better than that, it’s not considered to be normal.
But then guess what, I too fell into the trap! I took up BiPC because all the people around me wanted me to become a Doctor and my math wasn’t so good anyway. So we kind of cracked a deal.
After my 12th grade when i wanted to give an entrance exam for a Fashion Design college everybody tried convincing me to take up MBBS. With great difficulty I convinced all of them and I was ready to give the entrance test. Meanwhile another parallel line was drawn by the destiny. Life threw a severe health problem onto me when I was 16.
When my vision slowly started getting blurred, we rushed to the hospital to find out what it was. To our surprise none of the major hospitals could diagnose the problem. After trying our luck in many hospitals in Chennai , we decided to come to Hyderabad and in one of the hospitals we got to know what it was.
I was diagnosed with anti phospholipid syndrome, it’s an irreversible disorder of the immune system which causes abnormal blood clots due to which I lost vision in one of my eyes. This was a terrible time for me and for my family.
After recovering from the disappointment, a couple of months later I wanted to give my entrance exam. But then it was too late, the entries were closed till the next year and I had no other choice but to wait till the next year. This was the time where my patience was tested to it’s maximum extent. It felt terrible within me and I felt as if some greater force was acting upon me.
This was the time where I took a break for a complete year and did absolutely nothing, just waiting for the next year to come. I was still all determined to stick to the plan and become a Designer no matter what.
So when the next year came I gave the entrance test and got into the best Fashion design college in Hyderabad. Now that I finally landed in the college there was nothing to stop me from becoming a designer. I was fully charged & motivated. But then during my second year the same health issue started troubling me and it started affecting my only working eye during the stitching sessions. Initially I managed with the support of my classmates.
But later on, I didn’t feel like continuing like that. At that time, I realized that it was time to give up on my dream of becoming a Fashion Designer forever. I felt helpless at that point. I had to quit from college in the middle of my 2nd year. At that point I felt like every time something good happened to me, it lasted only for a few moments and later it slipped away.
When I quit college midway people literally poked at me. I was embarrassed to face people because I didn’t have a degree. I took many insults from people around me. But somehow I didn't want to tell about these health issues to my relatives & majority of my friends as I didn't feel like using this as an excuse.
I always believed that, you don't have to give explanations to anybody because they would anyway know whenever the time is right. It was an intense time where suddenly all this came upon me and I didn't know what to do with my life.
I spent the whole year doing nothing. Tired of quitting & taking rest, I decided to take a bigger leap no matter what happens this time. After a year’s break I wanted to start off my own label as a Fashion Designer.
I was barely 20 then without any professional work experience or a degree.That was the time where everybody were against me for the idea of doing something different; everybody, including my body.
I gathered resources for starting off a small scale business targeting to cover customers within a 3kms radius with no idea or experience of how to run a business.
Everybody has their own Idea of Learning. Some believe learning comes from a degree, some from books, some through previous work experience, some through a Mentor, but my idea of learning means jumping into action!
Just have the mindset to do something and be willing to make small mistakes, the circumstances will automatically teach you and soon enough you will realize that you have developed the skills that will be taught in the highest order of educational institutions.
The initial days of work was very challenging. Sometimes my vision used to go blurred and I used to feel after every hard day at work that it was my last day of sight. But when this choice came up to my mind of quitting or to continue; I was very clear from the first day itself that I was working for glory, not for money!
-After consistent hard work for 3 years, our brand’s customer base spread across 12 countries & 45 cities like wildfire largely through internet sales and we still have a long journey to travel.
2. How can one be a successful designer according to you?
Be original, be consistent, be passionate!
3. Do you think the lockdown has brought changes in the fashion industry?
Covid was a reality check to everybody, and we all actually needed that to be honest. There were many jobs lost. Even after the lockdown was lifted , customers were scared to walk in into stores to buy.
We pledged to gradually foster changes within our own brand and adapt sustainable fashion that causes minimum damage to the environment. Our brand stands by the thought that grassroot industries need to be empowered at ground levels by investing in resources like labour, raw material, etc.
Our support would help create a cycle of empowerment which will eventually promote home grown businesses and help strengthen the economy.
But there’s a good side to this covid situation as well, the speed with which collections were being produced has been reduced. People are inclining towards producing stuff ethically and sustainably, which is really good.
4. Any advice for aspiring fashion designers out there?
Be original , patient, and work passionately!
Fashion Designer
Instagram id : @geethikakanumilli_official, @kanumilli
Interviewed by : Shubham Nayak
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