Democratizing Fashion!
Prakhar Gupta, alumni of NIFT Bangalore is the Co-founder of Bangalore based bootstrapped sustainable label UNTUNG!
A visionary he wanted to democratize designer fashion wear in India hence he coupled his NIFT education into Textile design with a degree from Indian School of Business that educated him on the nuances and dynamics of doing business in fashion at scale.
Before setting up UNTUNG, he learned the practical trade by working in the fashion industry for almost a decade across many roles, and finally gave in to the itch of going on his own.
Two terms that really helped was one with Anita Dongre, where he was working on conceptualizing a brand for the modern Indian woman and then at a small stint at a ecommerce business venture called Nearbuy which gave him the complete confidence to dive in and launch his own brand.
Untung apart from being a complete sustainable brand is among the few that has succeeded in democratizing designer wear – making it accessible to all by research and consumer insight. Prakhar and his team strive to create a brand that is deeply rooted in Indian culture and arts; however still reflects the voice of the modern Indian woman.
Prakhar can be called a blend between being a stalwart of the fashion industry and an entrepreneurial wizard as he and he team in a short period of time have made a formidable footprint in the world of sustainable fashion.
Their business model is authentic and inspiration as by making macro strategic changes they have bettered everyone associated in play.
Prakhar voices “At Untung we have spent years building a network of small scale vendors and artisans for our raw material requirement. All our fabrics are hand printed and hand dyed and we have consciously stayed away from working with bigger mills.
Our manufacturing facility in Bangalore employs people from adjoining areas with 80% women in the workforce.
All employees are paid fair wages and are entitled to other benefits like health insurance, short term loans and kids education etc. The waste generated from our manufacturing unit is upcycled into various products using upto 90% of the total waste produced.
In spite of the lockdown, Untung clocked in good numbers by getting the balance right. Being grounded, with a dynamic team helped him build a foundation that took the lockdown just like a temporary hiccup for a few months.
He voices to other young designers “Remember Rome wasn’t built in a single day, there is no replacement for research, and consumer insight is the sharpest winning quality that one must master perpetually. The lockdown was a blow to all of us, but innovation and macro thinking wins the play in the long run”
He finally summarizes that one must learn to cherish small victories and build onto them, it’s a marathon. Having a great product is only half of the process; one must couple it with exceptional marketing and assess every quarter the approach.
Prakhar can also be called as the chief belief officer, his holistic hands on approach and belief that there is a beautiful reason why Indian buy is what is one must listen and then align everything else towards achieving it.
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Untung is going to grow big, kudos to Prakhar and his team for allowing walking the talk of being sustainable and leading by example.