Kamini Saraf: A born entrepreneur

She was born to be an entrepreneur. Kamini Saraf always had a business mind that could spot opportunities from a mile away. She grew up in a family of industrialists, where her grandmother, mother and aunts were all housewives, who were not supposed to work. “It was a big joint family. But my grandfather always made me do all the paperwork, so I never grew up with a view that housewives should be confined to the four walls. I always wanted to do something and was encouraged by my grandfather from a very young age,” says Kamini. In her single-minded pursuit of her dreams, she always wanted to be something.

Never a home person:

“I was never a home bird and could never cook. It was very difficult for me whereas any official work, planning, execution or creative enterprise was very easy for me,” admits the born entrepreneur. It is this passion that has helped her pursue her profession. “I always had a flair for fashion and would get blouses made for my mum with tapestry and pyjama material. I think I inherited the fashion and design streak from my mum, who had a fantastic taste, and the entrepreneur and philanthropist traits from my dad,” says Kamini.

In 1992, she got married into a conservative family and came to Hyderabad.  “When I first came here, I found there was no fashion scene. So every time I would go to a party, I would call up mum or aunts in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata to send me outfits. That’s when I thought that I need to do something about fashion,” says Kamini. What started off as a small designer label with her cousin is today one of the biggest multi-designer stores in Hyderabad. “I started off with small exhibitions. I kept doing something but because it was a joint family, it was a difficult for me to work and manage home and family at the same time. My son was small and there was no proper encouragement from home, so yes, there were some issues which restricted me,” recalls Kamini.

She’s on a roll:

‘Whatever dream or vision you have for your life, you must tap into it’, believes Kamini, and this is just what she has done. The seed of an event organising company germinated in 2005. “In 2005, I finally thought of bringing several designers under one roof and that’s how Fashion Yatra was born. Then I did another show in Hyderabad with a bigger designer, called Fashion Files, but unfortunately that didn’t take off well. For Yatra, I got designers from Kolkata but a lot of them were local too. It was a huge success and I knew then that it was my calling,” says Kamini, who started doing two shows from 2007 — one in the monsoon season and one during Diwali. In 2008, she started the night souk on Valentine’s Day. From 2007 to 2009, Kamini has touched all the major cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

There are ups and downs in any business, but Kamini didn’t get affected. There was however, a low point in her career in 2011. “There was a family tragedy and I became unwell, which restricted my shows to Delhi and Hyderabad. It was a year of setbacks for me,” shares Kamini. In spite of her setbacks however, Hyderabad Fashion Yatra went from strength to strength and became a brand. That’s when her friend Shalini Sharma asked her to venture into another business. “Initially I was a bit hesitant but when I landed up at the venue, I fell in love with it. And that’s how Angasutra was born. In two months, we got it rolling and in October 2014, we opened the doors for our clients. It’s been a good journey working with the best labels from all over India. A lot of celebrities came in and endorsed our store,” says Kamini, adding, “In January 2017, we opened the first flagship store of Rohit Bal and in the next few months, we will be opening the Manish Malhotra flagship store too.”

Proved her mettle:

Knowing the ins and outs of the fashion industry, it was an obvious choice for her to do something that proved her mettle. “I have always been very passionate about fashion and clothes. I never feel like I have enough clothes. It makes me feel happy,” says Kamini, who has been designing clothes forever. “More than a designer, I am a very good stylist.  Before marriage, I was doing it for my family and friends. After I got married, it became a profession,” says Kamini, who adds, “My husband has been the biggest support system for me. Especially since I married into a very conservative family, where the women didn’t work.”

A hardcore promoter of organic and sustainable ethical clothes, 90 per cent of her work are with only ethical clothing. “We had a very big setback with demonetisation and GST implementation, the fashion industry is going through a big low, but we are sustaining ourselves because we have a lot to offer in terms of design. Whoever comes into the store walks out with something,” says Kamini. A self confessed marketing and branding person, Kamini keeps thinking of ways on how she can improve branding of her events and store. She always looks for new mediums of advertising. “We always incorporate new designers in our Fashion Yatra. With Fashion Yatra, my challenge is to introduce 20 new faces to the city each time and do something to attract the crowd,” says the Ficci FLO Chairperson. Entrepreneurship of course, comes with its own set of challenges. “Life is a challenge and you have to overcome it and keep walking till you reach your destination. Just get your karma right by doing positive things and hard work will take you a long way,” concludes Kamini.