#nuarra

The power of Fashion is not only about the clothes. Its about being able to be confident with your body. Nuarra is an inclusive brand that caters to all women from size 02 - 28, it caters to the real woman. I recently met Anita Rehman, who is the founder and the brain behind this brand. She is an Electrical Engineer from Stanford and a Wharton Graduate. She has worked with multiple VCPE firms before she chose to start her own venture. 

Question: I would love to hear what is it that made you switch gears from the world of finance and numbers to the world of fashion Industry? What was it that inspired you?

Anita: I recognised the need in the market for a womens wear company while at VantagePoint Capital Partners where I was an investment professional in the Internet group.   In my research, I was surprised by the lack of attention garnered by the plus-size segment despite its large size and likely growth. Further study revealed that the typical consumer in this market showed a propensity to shop online rather than through  the ‘brick and mortar’ channel.  I was convinced of the significant opportunity in this sector  but it still was a hard decision to leave a steady paying job.  Then one day, I came across the story of Jessica Herrin and Stella and Dot and was so impressed by what she had accomplished with the company.  This served as inspiration for me to face my fears and give entrepreneurship a try.  

Question: In the world of fashion things are very superficial. I mean, we have heard it many times, fashion is frivolous - how did you choose to go against the norm and come up with a brand which is not only beautifully curated to fit american women bodies but has a beautiful mission too?

Anita: Well, I think this came naturally to me.  I spent the first twenty years of my life in India, a society that had in place many structural biases and inequities against women.  As an Indian woman I was not entitled to wish for anything beyond a life of “arranged” marriage and domesticity.  I was successful in breaking through some of these barriers, set my sights on getting into the graduate program at Stanford, and used that as an stepping stone away from my ‘defined’ path.  It was a turning point in my life and taught me the value of questioning the status quo and I became passionate about empowering women.   

~70% of women in the United States are considered plus-size (i.e. they wear clothes above a size 14).  This segment is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years. The plus-size segment was significantly underserved by retailers because they are considered a ‘brand stigma’ and also because of various business and financial limitations.  I saw this as an opportunity to combine my passion for empowering women with my passion to build a business and hence Nuarra was born, where we are proud to offer clothing to Fiercely Real women.

Question: Your Journey. Fashion Industry is a completely different industry. I work for a fashion brand and I understand how much learning  and effort goes into the process. From designing to sourcing to branding to marketing to collaborating to launching. It is a lot of work. What was your journey like?

Anita: Ah, yes!  I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with incredibly talented women who had rich experience in the fashion and retail world.  Katherine Gilpin and Teresa Field (my co-founder) served as my crutches in the initial stages of the company.  Beyond that, we just hit the pavement (literally) and leveraged our network and found what we needed. We drove to Los Angeles to pick up fabric in my SUV, walked the streets of New York to find Italian agents/factories and were finally connected via a New York agent to an Indian factory that manufactured our product. So it took a small village and a lot of helpful people to educate us and to make the company come together.

Question: How do you reach out to your audience? We all know, visual branding is very important in this industry. Research has proved it and as much as I hate to state it, it seems people tend to buy clothes that looks wonderful on unrealistic photoshopped figure. To me, Nuarra is a brand that aspires to create clothes that truly fits bodies and lifestyles of American women, which is very different  than most of the other fashion brands here. I would like to know how did you open that dialogue with your target segment? Do you follow the common norm like most other brands? What is your mantra to put that idea across to your real audience?

Anita: I'm not sure we've nailed this yet. We've tried to use models in the past that were more in the mid size range i.e. sizes 8/10/12 - but since we bootstrapped the company at the beginning we had to sometimes be willing to work with people who were smaller in size.   This is definitely one area of the branding and messaging that we have to work on and will incorporate more real women and real bodies into the mix.  

Question: As we are talking about fashion industry, I  would love to hear what is one of the most beautiful things that happened during your Nuarra journey (other than your beautiful collection)?

Anita: Starting a company is like having a baby - you don't realize how immersive a process it is until you actually do it. For me the most beautiful thing was to learn the resilience of the human spirit.  There were many days when I thought I could not take another step forward but then there were others I had to look out for and the purpose of this company kept me going.

Question: Last words to your audience and people who would love to follow their passion and start something of their own. 

Anita: I realize that everyone is at different stages in their life and with myriad responsibilities. My biggest advice to anyone would be to not ignore your passion. Honor it in any way you can - life is too short to live it 9-5 - and on other people's terms.  Put yourself out there, just move in the general direction of your passion and be bold, light your spark.   You'll be amazed at how uplifted you will feel.