Today we are going to focus on a popular female entrepreneur who has successfully created her way through the fashion industry. Anika Rashid the founder of Anikaires. She brings an exuberant personality to fashion design as well as stunning product design featuring bridal & evening couture art into clothing elements. Her work has earned her recognition by serving different clients internationally. Let’s learn more about Anika and her journey.
What are your company name and contacts?
company name: ANIKAIRES
Contact: anikaires@gmail.com
care@anikaires.com
Who are the founders and co-founders of the company?
Founder & Creative Director: Anika Rashid
Co-founders: Yeasmin Rashid & Harun Al Rashid. (My Parents)
A complete journey about the company? When you have started, how and where?
The journey begins with my second year of the Fashion Design Graduate program when I started working for international brands as a designer, back in the day. Besides my full-time studies, working as a full-time designer, starting from Tesco, Zara, Abercrombie, New Yorkers, Mister Lady many European brands.
In 2010, I first presented the Anikaires collection at Graduate Fashion Week, London as a designer and creative director. I gained remarkable momentum from this opportunity.
I was the only international student in the Department of Fashion in 2010 and today I am proud to be an alumnus of UCLAN.
Soon after, Anikaires Studio proved itself as an exploratory journey in spectacular fashion. In Anikaires, high fashion stretches over a century.
The journey of founders and co-founders?
I grew up in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and have had a lifelong fascination with art & glamor since childhood – always dreaming of escaping into a world of fantasy. With my signature style, it’s been my dream to create a magical studio that has been spread around the globe. My career has taken me to Europe, Asia & now the Middle East. I have spent time in Europe since 2005 with several international fashion houses and high-street fashion brands.
It was my passion to be a designer, but as I am a creative being I don’t have the business acumen, so the first 2 years when I created the brand the journey was beautiful as I was only creating, now I feel I am stuck into the business game to make it officially a successful brand into international scale. But I am learning and growing every day. It’s just a new world for me.
Who are your customers? And have you supplied it to anyone? What is the feedback?
So far my clients were mostly from London & few I got from Dubai as well, I never did any marketing so I need to start the marketing game to be in the business scene.
My work has been featured on the national TV channel, Newspaper of Bangladesh & also featured in British Vogue magazine in 2020 as a new talent.
What support do you need from the public and customers?
Started my entrepreneurial journey, with the great help of Dubai Design District, as a start-up in a new country, we always have to juggle between budget. So, all my money I spent on creating art into my clothing pieces. Designing and manufacturing. As my standard and competition are always with European Designers, so I pay very high attention to details and quality. Now, being in Dubai as a newcomer, in the selling market, I am short of marketing skills and bringing it to the page or public eye. So, I need a few good creative yet business-oriented people to get my brand to the surface or to the public eye.
Is there any breakeven?
I spend all my money making my collections, and website campaigns so they look international and I really made it that standard, which I am proud of. By looking at my work and website no one can say it’s alone handed one person’s work or business. My designing manufacturing and campaigns all took place in different countries; So it was an expensive project for me to do, and I have no complaints I did it with all my love passion, and money, and so far the investment I made, I did not may earn it back, but I did terrific getting clients internationally and it really satisfied. So being a start-up and as a newcomer my brand sustained.
Your website and social media pages.
Are you looking for investors? If yes then how much?
I am looking for someone who has knowledge and interest in fashion, as the fashion business is a different game. I invested in making my brand image and collection, I may need someone who can look after the marketing and business side of it.
Message to your customers and viewers
We don’t create just a designer dress with a hefty price, we create your dream dress & giving you the personality, as I do styling and choreography besides designing. the magic you want to wear on. Everything is custom-made & within your budget, I want to break the stereotype, that a designer dress means a big price tag. Designer dress means a signature personality, a unique piece, that a designer creates for you, not just the dress. Yes, to be unique and wear unique you need to break the bank, that’s the culture we set, designer labels make the economic difference, which I always stand against. So I want to bring design art to normal people like myself.
Currently, I am the only person active in this business, a solo-handed company it is. From creating to executing I do it all, yes time to time I hire freelancers to do the job for me as photography, videography, manufacturing, etc. but besides that my parents play a big role in my support system.
WE CREATE DREAMS: when I was a student in class 6 I wanted to be a designer, it was an innocent dream, which eventually I made true with my passion and love for it. I did not start my brand to make money but to showcase my talent, and my creativity to the world. But now it’s forming a business model.
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