October 2019 Edition Apparel October 2019 issue | Page 77

BRAND PROFILE
CREATING THE COLLECTION
QUA’s debut collection features shirts, blouses,
trousers, blazers, jackets, and suits, with each
category boasting different styles. The collection
is designed with cotton, viscose, wool blends,
and crepe fabrics, all sourced and stitched in
Turkey. Each garment required several rounds of
sampling during which Rupanshi would try the
garments herself and ask several of her friends
to do the same. It was only after constantly
tweaking the samples based on her personal
feedback and that of her friends that the fits and
sizes were finalised.
For the collection, the team focused on a
classic and timeless colour palette of blues, greys,
browns, whites, and blacks. “These colours have
traditionally been used since years for formalwear,
and have been established as professional and
empowering. But we also wanted to play around
with other colours a bit, so we introduced pants
in deep olive green, a suit in soft pink, and a shirt
in mint green.
ETHICAL CHOICES
One of the facets that Rupanshi and Bharat
looked for while interacting with factories for
potential collaboration was how ethical their work
processes were. “The factories that we work
with provide their workers with decent working
conditions, pay them well, and the work hours,
too, are comfortable. While visiting the factories
for quality checks, we converse with workers
about their work-life balance. We also try to work
with surplus fabrics in order to prevent them
from being discarded as waste. We champion
slow fashion and create only as much as we
believe we will be able to sell, without adding
to the unbelievable amount of wastage that is
increasingly becoming a problem across the
world,” she says.
The duo works in a way that their garments
are in sync with their beliefs. Rupanshi adds,
“We, as a brand, do not support fast fashion
that encourages brands to make and introduce
several collections in a period of a few months in
order to keep up with fleeting trends or demands.
So we make sure that whatever we make is
trans-seasonal and classic, something that can
be worn throughout the year. Apart from that,
we ensure that the fabrics, too, have enough
longevity. For instance, our woollen suits are
lightweight and lined with viscose, which makes
them breathable and thus wearable for seasons
to come.”
CENTRED ON THE CUSTOMER
Since QUA is solely an online brand for now,
the effort is focused on enhancing customer
experience. Rupanshi avers, “For an online brand,
offering a satisfactory customer experience is
as important as crafting good clothes. For that,
we have a 90-day free return policy as long as
the clothes are not damaged. We also offer free
alterations, if required.”
As Rupanshi and Bharat work towards their
aim of making QUA a one-stop shop for the
sartorial needs of working women, they will
gradually expand their apparel range and also
add accessories to the existing repertoire.
They are content with the response they have
been receiving from their customers, and plan
to explore other fabric options, namely silks,
linens, and various blends for future collections,
along with participating in pop-ups, and opening
a bricks-and-mortar store to make the label
accessible to more and more customers.
APPAREL
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