Entrepreneurial Journey of Designer & Entrepreneur Neha Kabra of MAATI, a PETA Verified Brand

Entrepreneurial journey of Neha Kabra, a passionate designer, Travel Entusiasts, and Entrepreneur. 

Neha Kabra always knew that she wanted to do something with design; so she studied at Raffles Mumbai along with doing a course as a fashion designer.

While in the maximum city, she worked with other designers who travelled to Mumbai, and worked at Lakme.

A stint as a sales girl, a graphic designer, and odd different jobs were all tried to see what she could settle at?

After studying design at Raffles Neha moved to London enrolling into a course to learn pattern cutting from central St.Martin which also taught her the technicalities of Fashion.

Being driven and ambitious, she always wanted to do something of her own right from her college days, something in her own style!

Before going to London, the idea of sustainability and Maati came into play by her own research and germination of the brand began.

Neha is from Udaipur and with gratitude says that her upbringing is in the most naturalistic setting that ushered her to live sustainably and simply.

Maati started in 2017 December.

Before officially launching the brand, Neha and her team did a small pop up in September to do a test run of their outfits and before finally officially launched it. She feels the journey has been beautiful with its own highs and lows.

With confidence and humility she states that “The mission of Maati is to allow your mind, body and soul to breathe while being a platform wherein one can buy sustainable products at affordable prices; moreover at the same time it is a package of all things good, leaving behind a mark of goodness which is a bit lacking in today’s times.” 

Neha voices “I like traditional craftsmanship; I would confess that I am not a very technologically inclined person, and over a period of time learned the communities who are today the bedrock of my journey.

My journey began with meeting the weavers of Bengal, with us both contributing to each other.

This year, I am already using the available resources that I have coz things are tough for the communities I work with; however we have divided the work amongst the clusters and innovating to play along.

In the next five years, I see Maati really making an uptrend especially in the sustainable clothing market”.

Neha’s advice to new entrepreneurs would be just following one’s gut feeling, and not to get discouraged by temporary lows, and that it all adds up finally.

She closes by stating that one cannot always replicate someone’s journey in entrepreneurship, it is an experience best witnessed in their own footsteps.

About MAATI

Maati – the name is derived from the soil as we all rise from the soil and dissolves in the same.

Maati by Neha Kabra is a contemporary womenswear label from Udaipur, Rajasthan that understands the balance between efficiency and expression.

With a simple application, Maati uses pure and effortless silhouette bringing out the best in people. It believes in letting your hair down and feeling the breeze passing through. It wants you to feel the rawness of earth.

Every garment in Maati is created creatively with a sense of wearability. It wants to give each style its own identity and thus creates limited styles because less is more.

It believes in the philosophy of ‘The more comfortable you are the more productive you will be’.

Along with style, Maati also experiments with traditional Indian printing techniques which are hand done hence creating every piece slightly different from another. So what you own is Unique.

Maati is also an environmental friendly, PETA verified brand. At every step, it tries to be cautious and keeps the agenda of sustainability.

A part of the fabric is up-cycled, the dyes and print colors are borrowed from nature without harming it and packaging is plastic-free. 

Maati’s ideology is to grow but along everyone else and hence it is a very true and honest project with clothing and fashion as its elements.