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Coming from the small town of Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, Vaishali had a lot of dreams for herself.
But this restricted all of her goals because she had no exposure to the outside world. She had never seen city life. She did not even have a television in her house.
None of these things could stop her. Today, Vaishali is a successful designer who has her fashion boutiques. She is also the first Indian woman designer to present her designs at the Paris Fashion Week.
With her collection 'SHWAS' that means 'breath'. She was the first woman designer and an international guest designer invited by the Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode to showcase their brand's couture collection at the event.
From a small-town teen to a well-known fashion designer
Vaishali gathered all her savings, and with a loan of Rs 50,000, she opened her first boutique in Mumbai.
Within ten years, Vaishali opened two more boutiques, completed her graduation, and then even post-graduation in fashion!
Second-hand clothes: The first step towards a successful career in designing
As a child, Vaishali rarely got to wear new clothes. Most of her clothes were old. Worn by her elder sister and then passed down to Vaishali when they became old.
Once they were of no use, her parents used to recycle them. Vaishali's family tried to save money. All that could be used again was reused or recycled.
Not a single cloth at her home was wasted. They made curtains and tablecloths from these old clothes. This creative and intelligent way of recycling clothes and designing something new from them was Vaishali's first-ever inspiration for designing -- Something she would later build her career based on this idea.
Clothes in her backpack and beautiful dreams in her eyes.
Vaishali realised that she could not achieve her dreams by staying in the village.
So she left her house and went to Bhopal. All she had with her was a backpack of clothes and dreams in her eyes.
She stayed at the hostel and took a job at a builder's office as an office assistant.
While working, she used to give fashion advice to her colleagues. She saw that people liked what she suggested. Some used to come back to her and thank her for her advice. This motivated her to think about fashion designing as a career option.
Vaishali knew that just giving advice or having basic knowledge of fashion wouldn't do her any good. She needed to have a proper education and degree to move ahead. But money was still an issue.
Vaishali was a dream chaser, though. She smartly handled this situation. Instead of enrolling in a college, she photocopied the whole curriculum.
She started studying at home by herself. Simultaneously, she also started designing on a small scale.
She saved some money and shifted from Bhopal to Mumbai for better opportunities.
Here she took up took a job at a gym. Along with that, she worked at an export house as a designer. Soon with her savings and a loan of Rs 50,000, Vaishali started her own fashion designing business. Soon her work started gaining fame. She also got a chance to present at Lakme and New York Fashion Week.
Even after achieving success, Vaishali still has more dreams and ambitions. According to her, the current success is just the beginning. "I am just getting started!" she says!
- Like Vaishali, many girls wish to take up fashion designing as their career option. If you have that creativity and passion for fashion designing, Glow & Lovely Careers Fashion Design Illustration Free Online Course can help you!