With No Formal Degree In Designing, This Young Entrepreneur Made Books And YouTube His Fashion School

Is a formal degree in fashion designing a must to make a career in this field? The answer could be a yes, but it certainly wasn’t the case for Kartik Kumra! Let’s read the story of a young fashion designer who learned fashion designing from books and YouTube!

From childhood passion to a full-fledged career

As a child, Kartik Kumra was always inclined towards clothes. With time he became more and more interested in fashion. As he further explored this field, he realized that there weren’t many outfits that represented the Indian culture at the high-end stores. This made him set goals for making his fashion line. But with a degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and no exposure to professional fashion design, Kartik’s dream seemed far-fetched. So how did he work his way around this?

Also, read 20 Meritorious EWS Students From IIM Jammu To Get INR 1.5 Lakhs Scholarships Each!

To pursue his passion, Kartik had YouTube and books to his rescue! When asked about his learning method, he said, “A lot of hours on YouTube. I taught myself about luxury garment construction online and through some great (Maison) Margiela books. In general, being an enthusiast about this stuff, I knew what the standards required for these stores were. I’m still learning a lot by working with our pattern master. I’m presenting him with new ideas that he hasn’t explored before and I’ve just been taking in knowledge by seeing him work.”

Kartik’s ‘future vintage’

During the pandemic, Kartik hatched the idea to start his line of menswear, and thus his venture ‘Karu’ was born. The venture has now caught the attention of prominent fashion retail platforms like Sense, Mr. Porter, Selfridges, and Calculus. 

As per Kartik, Karu can be defined as a 'perfect blend of fabrics that age gracefully along with a special signature look that can one day be a part of a vintage store.' In his designs, Kartik references vintage clothing ideas from high-end brands such as Armani and Margiela. 

Also read: Meet The Girl Who Went From Selling Flowers At Mumbai Roads To Pursuing A Ph.D. From The University of California!

Fashion with an Indian touch

To experiment with Karu, Kartik traveled to various artisanal communities and contacted artisans through his Instagram to collaborate on his projects. Now, he works with 40 independent artisans, 10 clusters in Andhra Pradesh, printers in Bagru as well as Kantha artisans and embroiders in various parts of the region. As of now, Kartik is happy since he has a community of people enthusiastic about trying the latest trends. His line has also garnered positive reviews from South Asians living abroad. 

When asked about his next steps with the business, he admitted he wants to enter the Indian market but the transition is a hard one. Customers preferring foreign-made goods compared to domestic ones is the principal reason. He said, “My hypothesis is, that because as Indians, we can sometimes have a pretty low sense of self-worth regarding what we can produce, heritage-based products are often devalued relative to international brands. So, to get the message across, there’s an education process to get over the hesitation that doesn’t exist with our customers abroad.”

But despite the challenges, his venture that thrives in its owner's bedroom in Delhi, is doing exceptionally well at the moment catering to a group of people who have found exactly what they need in Karu. Now, all he has to do is spread the word, and get more people to buzz with excitement!

You might also be interested in reading:

1. This 22-Year-Old IITian Cleared UPSC In Her First Attempt; How Did She Do It?
2. Meet The Founder Of Indic Keyboard: The IIT Delhi Dropout Who's Now Worth INR 750 Cr!
3. Amid False Reports Of Being Acquired By HUL, A Quick Recap Of How MDH Masala Turned Into The Spice King Of India!
4. Instagram Helps Mother-Daughter Trio Move Their Company From The Bedroom And Reach 15 Cr Annual Turnover
5. From A Corporate Job To Shark Tank India To Becoming A Millionaire; Meet The MBA Grad Who Made Banana Chips Global!