Khushboo Kaplesh has lived in the U.A.E since she was born and comes from an Indian background. Having been raised with cultures & traditions existing in both countries, she was naturally exposed to many artistic and contemporary ideas across various ethnicities. Following through with her artistic passion, Khushboo enrolled at the Prestigious French Fashion University - ESMOD International and won the award for ‘Best Pattern Making Designer’ in her final year. Never to give up on any learning opportunity, Khushboo has been involved in the regional fashion industry by working at Couture boutiques for over three years, as well as creating her own fabrics and participating in numerous Fashion exhibitions across the region. To gain a first-hand experience in the European fashion industry, she interned for the coveted Dutch Haute Couture designer, Iris Van Herpen in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where she was involved in creating and showcasing Iris Van Herpen’s designs at the Paris Couture week in 2012. By building on her experience in fashion for many years across the U.A.E and Europe, she has now started her brand – “Khushboo Kaplesh”. Established in mid-2015, Khushboo Kaplesh believes in creating contemporary and artistic designs aimed for the ever confident and women of today. Her designs allow women to shine through a crowd and be that individual of style. She believes there is a story behind everything that she creates and hopes to illustrate it to the world. As such, Khushboo imagines her brand as a filtered reflection of the beauty surrounding her and is ready to take the world on a colourful journey, where creative imagination becomes reality and the possibilities of this vision are limitless.
Interview with Khushboo Kaplesh
1. Why did you want to pursue a career as an entrepreneur? Was this always what you wanted to do?
I did not always want to pursue a career as an entrepreneur. However, I did know I always wanted to pursue a career in the Fashion Industry; designing, styling and constructing wearable art. This passion of mine led me to start my own brand. I still believe it is important to have experience and get to know any industry and location before investing in a company.
2. What was the biggest challenge you faced to get to where you are today?
Every career comes with its own challenges. Especially at the beginning of any venture, you face them even more. I feel my biggest challenge has always been trying to market my brand to the right target audience. Getting the brand out of their many competitors can be hard and requires a lot of effort and persistence to achieve sales. Also being an emerging designer, getting support from local retail shops is really helpful. However, that was not easy. So it is important to pitch to the local stores and network with people from within the industry to help gain more recognition for the brand, which in the future will help build a brand image.
3. What do you think of aspiring entrepreneurs?
My only advice would be, do not lose hope and be positive. Times can get very tough, however, it is important to keep trying, keep working hard because hard work always country off. I truly believe there is no shortcut to hard work. Even if somewhere you seem to be failing, try not to feel bad and see that at the same time you are getting to learn and experience life. Also to be confident in your brand and yourself. And lastly, to have faith.
4. What is the best part about your career?
The best part would definitely be having the freedom to create what my minds think. With no boundaries, endless limitations, my career really opens up a vast space for me to create what I solely like and believe in. Also having my own flexible hours and the fact that I get to meet lots of new people and have several interactions.
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5. Can you tell a little bit about your company and the goals behind it?
I started my own Ready-To-Wear (RTW) brand about 2 years ago. I started small, with capsule collections and liked to make it bigger in the coming years. The progression can certainly be slow and it is important to be patient. One day I hope to take my brand overseas and showcase and sell in places like New York City, Paris and India.