"It was my dream all along!" a smiling Deepti Panuganti tells Fibre2fashion. An independent fashion designer, Deepti recently opened her first boutique 'Ask Why Not' (AWN) in Bandra. A Mechanical Engineer and an MBA from IIM Kolkata, Deepti quit her corporate career to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams.
Click on the image for slideshow. Young, energetic and daring, Deepti offers a wide range of stylish festive work-wear at AWN that targets the new-age career woman. An ex-employee of IT, FMCG and Education fields, Panuganti explains, "My personal experience says that during festive seasons, one desires to dress up for the occasion without breaking the office dress code. Hence, I decided to create a collection that was elegant and whcih exuded a traditional festive feel at the same time. For the first line, I used architectural elements, which were translated into mock flaps."
Deepti says, "I want AWN to evolve as a one-stop destination for the urban intelligent woman when she wants to shop clothes that make her look and feel good."
Panuganti caters to middle-range segments. When asked how the expenses are balanced, she states, "We are trying to do prêt, because that is the fastest selling worldwide and will eventually be the fastest in India. We are coping by reducing our margins and increasing the break-even period."
As a designer who loves to work with traditional textiles, silk, linens and blends of the three, she says that linen is a phenomenal fabric. "It has a very formal feel to it and is ideal as work wear. However, one needs to experiment while washing it so that it does not wrinkle," she says.
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