I live, love and breathe sustainable fashion and I know we can use fashion as a force for good. I share strategies and solutions to help you increase your impact and increase your sales because we need to succeed as a collective of sustainable fashion businesses if we’re going to change the world.
And it’s what my new weekly LIVE sessions are all about! I speak with incredible guests doing amazing things in the fashion industry and we talk all things fashion, business, sustainability and sales.
Today’s Instagram LIVE was with the lovely Karishma Kasabia from Kholo and it was such a juicy chat filled with so much wisdom! Every day Karishma gets up to create an industry she knows the world deserves, and she's worked hard to build a fashion label she can be proud of.
You can watch the full interview on Instagram here, but I also wanted to share the three big lessons Karishma has learnt building her ethical and sustainable fashion label.
1. Authentic conversations are the key to growth.
Karishma started using Instagram stories to talk about her brand and her products because it felt authentic, and as an introvert, it was an easy way to communicate with her following. What she learnt over time though, was that Instagram stories were a powerful way for her to start meaningful conversations with her customers. By using stories regularly, she's built lasting relationships with her customers and in turn, increased her sales.
2. You have a responsibility to think about inclusivity.
Karishma "grew up with a tummy" and as a young woman, she always felt misrepresented by the cookie-cut blonde size 10 fashion images of the 2000s. She wanted to be a positive role model and use her label as a force for good to nurture self love, so she's been size inclusive from her second range onwards. She learnt the hard way that launching without a customer strategy doesn't work, but once she got it right, business made so much more sense. Financing a range to accommodate sizes 6 to 26 hasn't always been easy, but Karishma takes her responsibility seriously to empower women through fashion, and that means looking after the women who make her clothes as well as being available for the women who wear them - and all their unique body shapes and sizes. You don't always have to launch with a full size range, but it's something worth working towards.
3. Trust yourself. You've got this.
Being in business is hard. Sometimes it's stressful. It can impact your entire life. But Karishma has learnt that when you trust yourself and back yourself, any challenge can be overcome and any mountain can be climbed. She agrees that you're going to make mistakes in business, that's a given, but what matters is that you learn through them and look for the silver lining, and always try to have a positive mindset.
Learn more about Karishma's journey via the Kholo website here or watch our full Instagram live interview here to learn more about fashion, sustainability, business and sales.
If you're running an ethical, sustainable, circular or slow fashion label and you have a challenge you're trying to overcome, tune in every week on Instagram to watch my LIVE interviews with brands and businesses who have overcome their own challenges - proving that you can too.
You can also reach out to me here!
Claire x
