Mehjabeen Mustafiz Simily, Founder of Simily Haute Coture, elaborates on her idea of fashion, experience of the industry and the importance of self-believe in business
WHAT DOES FASHION MEAN TO YOU?
Fashion design is considered to me as an art of appreciation of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. It’s the cultural construction of the embodied identity. It encompasses all forms of self-fashioning including street styles and high fashion created by designers or couturiers. Fashion also alludes to how things are made and make it a particular form. Fashion defined to me as the prevailing style of dress or at any given time with the strong implication that it characterised by change.
PLEASE SHARE SOME DETAILS ABOUT YOUR EARLY LIFE. WHAT INFLUENCED YOU TO BECOME A FASHION ENTREPRENEUR?
PLEASE SHARE SOME DETAILS ABOUT YOUR EARLY LIFE. WHAT INFLUENCED YOU TO BECOME A FASHION ENTREPRENEUR?I always had this dream to become an entrepreneur. Manufacturing or producing something locally was my underlying wish. I was a student of the first batch at North-South university and completed my Bachelors as a marketing major. Concurrently, my passion for the industry led me to explore and try different ranges of clothing locally and globally. One particular issue always made inquisitive that whenever it’s high-end outfits we always tend to purchase for neighbouring countries. Why not produce something special that will encourage people to explore the local brands?, the thought led to the creation of “Simily Haute Coture” in 2014 at an outlet in Gulshan-2 with the support of thirty skilled workers and professional designers.
YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE INDUSTRY FOR QUITE SOME TIME. HOW HAS THE EXPERIENCE BEEN FOR YOU?
I have been working in this industry for almost a decade. Like any other entrepreneur, I have focused on creating a network, business plan, raising finance, sales marketing and also the initial influence to designing the clothing line. I have created a team of fashion designers and a skilled marketing team who would create a fashionable ready to wear collection at a reasonable price. The line was named “Staples” and gathered an amazing response after being introduced in 2020. Another line is called “ Weekend Wardrobe “ which offers women ethnic wear with a lot of creative work for the mid-ranged line. Also, I produce an actual couture line through “Luxury Label”. My brand is precisely known for high-end outfits as my target was to create an audience who would buy locally made high-end outfits locally.
HOW DO YOU ENVISION SIMILY HAUTE COUTURE A DECADE FROM NOW?
Without the burning desire to carve a niche for yourself in the fashion industry, any plan we make is liable to be lacking a vital ingredient. Every entrepreneur needs a healthy reserve of self-belief. I had full confidence in my brand to capture the audience.
To create my own fashion business I needed to be comfortable taking risks. As a founder of “Simily Haute Coture”, I had to take strategic decisions about the direction of my business.
I had people in my corner to help achieve the goal. The creative team, suppliers, associates and people around me had full faith in my brand. It’s very much a people-centric business and I am a people person. My target is to engage more women and men in this venture by training them and creating more employment. Also, generate more income from non-residential Bangladeshis (NRBs), as they are frequent customers of my brand. It will also help to save hard-earned foreign currencies.