Social media and e-commerce boost young designer’s talent

Young entrepreneurs in India do not own a single brick and mortar store but they are already successful in their design businesses. Their product portfolio includes everything from clothes to accessories, which are sold purely through e-commerce and social media. There are several examples of young, talented entrepreneurs, who after completing their graduation from a design school, began retailing their designs through online medium instead of joining a company to develop someone’s label.

A research by US Chamber of Commerce reveals, among today’s generation there is a trend toward personal branding, which, on its surface, appears self-promoting. Looking deeper reveals a method for young people to identify their passions and determine the most expedient path forward, rather than having others set a path for them.

Trading on a self-made path

The findings of the study point out to the fact that the young talent is keen to explore the unbeaten territories rather than banking upon others. Here are some examples.

Sayon Chatterjee always wanted retail handcrafted products so he launched an eyewear brand Sayon in January this year. From his Delhi home, this 25-year-old carves at least three Nagpur-teak spectacle frames in a day and sells them for Rs 4,000-Rs 8,000 online. After studying product design at Symbiosis School of Design, Pune, Chatterjee began customising bikes with his brother but soon turned to creating customized wooden frames. Just nine months after his label was launched, he has begun retailing with Bombay Electric in New Delhi, Misri in Jaisalmer and Jodhpur and LJ Cross in New York. He gets orders purely by word-of-mouth and on his Facebook page. He showcased his creations at the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2014 last month that has helped him collaborate with fashion designers.

Another example is of 25-year-old Suman Bhat, who after graduating from Symbiosis Institute of Design, Pune, decided to launch her label, Lola, two years ago. The designer has a studio in Goa where she works with artists who collaborate on her collections. She began retailing the range on her Facebook page last year. Now, she retails on YellowTrunk and would soon be on Fashionara and Styletag.

Jaipur-based accessories brand October conceptualized by Rabia Singh and Akash Sinha, both batchmates at Pearl Academy, does not have a website but retail travel accessories made of leather and durrie, ikat , canvas and eye-catching other materials solely through Facebook, online stores like Tadpole, Bhane and Indian Roots and 10 stores across India. Next month, they plan to sell their bags on a US-based website, IndiLust. Selling on Facebook has helped them save the money on payment gateways, too.

Similarly, New Delhi-based duo, Resham Karmchandani, 23, and Sanya Suri’s, 22, sustainable label, The Pot Plant retails on Facebook and shopping websites such as Tadpole and Curio and have been witnessing positive response.

Internet and ecommerce boom here to stay

Calling today’s young ‘Millennials’, US Chamber of Commerce study further says that Millennials add content through constant connectedness and the popularity of social media, keeping marketers on their toes. This generation’s connectedness also demands that brands ensure or influence that the user experience is positive. Additionally, this generation will continue to change the marketplace through the blurring of traditional gender roles. Savvy marketers will broaden their reach across gender lines to take advantage of the larger, more diverse potential market for their products.