ALL SEWN UP

EPIC DESIGNERS PROVIDES THE WORLD WITH 100 MILLION GARMENTS EVERY YEAR, AND WITH RANJAN MAHTANI AT THE HELM THERE’S NO DOUBT THEY’RE BEING PRODUCED SAFELY AND SUSTAINABLY.

- WENDY KAY

Ranjan Mahtani can’t remember a life not consumed by buttons and thread. The CEO of Epic Designers also can’t forget the family mantra. “Eating, sleeping, breathing, buttons and thread,” he laughs. “That’s what we lived by. That’s what we remember.”

And that’s what was embedded in Ranjan’s DNA, his future in the rag trade mapped out early, an almost subliminal force driving him to be where he is today – in Hong Kong, heading a leading clothing and accessories manufacturer with a footprint spanning Africa, Asia, UAE, and the United States. Epic Designers’ client list reads like a who’s who of the world’s most renowned retailers, with a connection to premium brands and markets in every continent around the world.

Ranjan’s foray into the industry began while growing up in Mumbai. His father made premium dress shirts for the domestic retail market and, as a young boy, he’d often followed his dad around India to watch him spruik his trade. He admits it wasn’t always the most fascinating thing to do, but reflecting on those early years, he realises now how much he must have subconsciously absorbed as a spectator, sitting quietly and watching business unfold.

However, as much as Ranjan was anticipating a rather seamless segue into the trade, life threw him a curveball when his father died aged 49. At just 16 years old, the teenager had to reconfigure his future and, after leaving school a few years later in 1983, he headed for Hong Kong to begin an internship at his cousin’s clothing business, Epic Designers.