Chaitali Giri

My childhood days were very amazing with my grandfather and my grandmother who first taught me how to draw and observe nature.

Chaitali Giri on “why fashion”

My childhood days were very amazing with my grandfather and my grandmother who first taught me how to draw and observe nature. My father used to purchase various newspapers and magazines which included a lot of leading fashion magazines. Travelling was a family culture during vacation in schooldays, which exposed me to different cultures. My inspiration has been my mother who taught me from childhood that “a woman needs to be self-supported”. Every afternoon my mother and neighbours used to gather to make hand crafted items (woollen products, hand embroideries in garments, crafted show pieces for interior decoration) for their own use and for the family members, which I could relate with the fashion magazines. This all led me to the path that I followed and am proud I chose fashion as my career.

…on her early years

Fashion was in my blood and right from my childhood I was surrounded by it. This made me chase my passion and I pursued my B.Sc in Fashion Design from IIFT, New Delhi followed by Cutting and Tailoring from BSGSS, New Delhi and Fashion Clothing Technology from NIFT, Kolkata. Establishing a new brand is never easy and we left no stone unturned to make it happen.

…on her key moments

The journey has been challenging but the hard work has paid off with some awards - Golden Fibre Award by National Jute Board and NIFT, Aspiring Designer Label by Fashion and Fitness, to name a few. Achieving the Nirman Award in fashion & Textile, both the sectors was when I felt that I could do it. In 2005, while pursuing my B.SC., all my fashion shows were a super hit. Luck favored me and my first collection was commercially successful and satisfied the buyers in 2006.