Interview with Avani of sisters Avani and Sneh, founders/designers of Nasaani Fashion

Chicago-based designer Avani discusses her experience with starting her own fashion line, Nasaani.

INTERVIEW:

(Hellos, can I record this?.. and such)

Q:Can you pronounce the name of this company?

A:Sure, Nassani.

Q:Nassani, ok. And can you give me a brief history, how you began?

A: Um, my sister and I started the company a few years back. We got into it because we just kind of got tired of the fashion in Chicago and we thought it would kind of be nice to kind of be able to wear things that are a little bit different so we started making a few pieces for ourselves. And we just got so many compliments on them and we had so many people stop us and ask us ‘where did you get that piece’, and what not so we decided, why not try to launch this into a brand. It was really something that just kind of happened and so we decided to take our chances and start a line and we ended up getting a lot of positive feedback and so that’s how the company got started.

Q: Are you located in Chicago?

A: The company is based out of Chicago, I actually live in New York and I am also a full time attorney so I practice law as well, and she actually just moved to Cincinatti because she is doing a fellowship over there, well because she actually has a doctorate in pharmacy and is pursuing more of a brand management marketing type of position with that.

Q: So do you have a store in Chicago?

A: You know we don’t have a store, we were actually selling to boutiques in Chicago.

Q: What influences your style?

A: My style is probably more of a European look, it’s more classic lined, perfect cut, a lot of silk, very up scale for women, we like, I personally love getting dressed up, I love dresses and skirts, so I think the line reflects that. Also, very chic and I think it’s for someone who wants to get noticed, it’s not something you put on just to blend in with everyone else, it’s very different. And we hope that our pieces are very classic, they don’t necessarily reflect a trend more than a style. It’s more like you can take that piece out of the closet a year later and still wear it.

Q: Ok, you said that you were tired of Chicago fashion so you decided to come up with something unique, correct?

A: Yes.

Q: So now you are in New York, is fashion different there?

A: Fashion is very different in New York versus Chicago because you do have a lot of emerging designers in New York. You have a lot of different looks that you don’t find in Chicago. Even with the big name stores, even department stores, they carry a lot of stuff that is very different for Chicago. A lot more people in New York get dressed up more often. Walking outside you see more people that are dressed head to toe.

Q: In an effort to keep designers from leaving the Midwest, Mayor Daley began launching fashion friendly programs in the past couple years like fashion shows, and contests. Did you participate in such programs?

A: We did actually do, well we didn’t do the ones the mayor has launched but we did do Lolapalooza. A few years back they did a fashion show, we partook in that. We also did the first Chicago fashion week that they had put together a year or two ago as well. So we have been doing Chicago events, and we are very much based out of Chicago in the sense that we have done most of our marketing in Chicago. To tell you the truth for the past year we didn’t do anything new with the line because we are thinking of starting a children’s line. We haven’t really focused on it much because we have both been very busy professionally as well but I think it is something we are trying to get back into for the new season…But you said, I think, you know Chicago is a great place and I’m glad that the city has done so much more for the fashion industry and I hope that designers don’t necessarily leave the Midwest. And I think there are a lot more boutiques in Chicago, I think it’s changing.

Q: So you have noticed change compared to a couple years ago?

A: I think so, I think there are a lot more emerging designers. When we first started designing it seemed like if we did a fashion show it was always the same designers names that came up, and I think there were a hand full, and just from what I have been seeing now it just seems like there are more people doing these events and these shows in Chicago now.

Q: The mayor hopes that his efforts will help keep young and emerging artists and designers in the city. How open of a market has the fashion industry been for you? Was is easy, difficult to get into?

A: I think the fashion industry is a very difficult business to get into. There is no right way of doing it. There is no formula for it like there is for other things. You want to be a doctor, go to medical school, you want to be a lawyer go to law school. I think with the fashion industry everybody kind of gets into it in different ways and I think it is very difficult to promote your brand over someone else’s brand. But it’s great that the mayor is doing these things, I think that the one recommendation I have is to make the information a little bit more readily available. When we were starting out doing these things I think we didn’t really have access to that information.

Q: Did you or your sister attend fashion school or take classes?

A: No we didn’t, it just kind of started out as a personal endeavor and then kind of blossomed into a little bit more.

Q: So you began a couple years ago…and you started sewing your own clothes or..?

A: No, none of us actually know how to really sew, so we did some of it and them we kind of assigned seamstresses to do the rest.

Q: So would you draw out your designs?

A: Yes, we would draw them and go fabric shopping…

(Explanation of Loyola University project again, thank yous and such)

Avani – I don’t know if you know this but I actually graduated from Loyola…

(Small World)




5 QUALITY QUOTES:


1. “My sister and I started the company a few years back. We got into it because we just kind of got tired of the fashion in Chicago and we thought it would kind of be nice to kind of be able to wear things that are a little bit different so we started making a few pieces for ourselves.”

– This quote describes what influenced the two sisters to begin their clothes line and it mentions the “problem” Chicago and the general Midwest has with boring fashion, something Mayor Daley is trying to change with the launch of Chicago’s Fashion Week and other fashion initiatives.

2. “Fashion is very different in New York versus Chicago because you do have a lot of emerging designers in New York. You have a lot of different looks that you don’t find in Chicago.”

- Again this quote emphasizes the fact that Chicago is not such a fashion-friendly environment as is New York City for example. Mayor Daley is hoping he can change that with his fashion programs to keep emerging designers from leaving the Midwest to go East and West coast.

3. “I think the fashion industry is a very difficult business to get into. There is no right way of doing it. There is no formula for it like there is for other things. You want to be a doctor, go to medical school, you want to be a lawyer go to law school.”

- This quote describes the difficulty of getting breaking into the fashion industry from the perspective of someone who began their own fashion line basically starting from scratch, and it is relevant because I would assume most emerging designers do not have family members who already own a fashion line, so they start small themselves and work their way into the market.

4. “It’s great that the mayor is doing these things, I think that the one recommendation I have is to make the information a little bit more readily available. When we were starting out doing these things I think we didn’t really have access to that information.”

- This quote mentions the mayor’s attempts to do something for a Chicago-based fashion market and suggests what could be done to help emerging designers, from the perspective of one.

5. “It was really something that just kind of happened and so we decided to take our chances and start a line and we ended up getting a lot of positive feedback and so that’s how the company got started.”

It just kind of started out as a personal endeavor and then kind of blossomed into a little bit more.”

- These two similar quotes encompass the uncertainty of emerging designers, as well as what prompted the sisters to take a chance. Most emerging designers can probably relate.

QUESTIONS I WILL CALL BACK FOR:

What types of obstacles did you face in attempting to create your own fashion line?

As a designer, what would you suggest to emerging and hopeful fashion designers?

Where do you plan on launching your children’s line? Will you stay in Chicago?

Based on any experience, would you say it is more difficult to break into the fashion industry in Chicago, or in places like New York and San Francisco?

Describe how you went about getting clients to buy your pieces and how often you designed, etc.