Abaya Studio- A Startup Story to Inspire Your Entrepreneurial Pursuit

By Huma Shakeel

Pakistani women are now realizing that they should do more things other than dressing up and looking good. Modest wear is one of the latest fashion trends in Pakistan’s fashion industry. This trend was started by few couture houses a couple of years ago, but have recently gained momentum over time. In Pakistan, modest wear is common but not perfect. I believe that unconventional styles are always in style, but there are things you can do to make modest wear a little more fun. This is what I wanted to do and thought to launch my own brand “Abayastudio”.

In 2021, I took an initiative to come up with a great combination of modern and modest wear so that women can get more stylish look. I founded the modest wear brand with the idea that imperfection is not only acceptable but often beautiful. And this is what my brand offers, it offers modern modest wear with a twist but in beautiful colors and fabrics. The brand utilizes unique designs, rich colors, and unique textiles to create couture clothes that reflect the wearer’s personality. This makes my brand stand out now it’s one of the best online Abaya stores in Pakistan.

My experience with product and customers is really amazing. I never expected that I got such a great response from my customers and received positive feedbacks. It was beyond my expectations but this led me to grow more in my domain and I kept working hard.

I have always had a curious mind and I was interested in making innovative dress designs when I was in school. Having such a strong passion to do something in my life motivated me to pursue it as a career in the future. Here I can say I’m a woman who had a dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur as I wanted to do something that empowers me. This led me to become an entrepreneur and I started my own brand “Abayastudio”, an online store, which is focused on women modest attires and other accessories. Prior to this, I admired Muslim women wearing modest clothes. However, my first experiment was when I decided to wear a hijab at weddings and found that there was a dearth of stylish modest clothing. Therefore, I came up with my own abayas and hijabs that featured beaded and dabka work, and that’s how Abayastudio was launched.

All our articles have been designed and handcrafted by our team of highly professional and skilled craftsmen with a mission to provide you with exceptional quality. It is a multi-tiered process that starts with the design moving from sketches on to “ADDAS” where they are hand embroidered on clothes with extreme attention to every knot, merging power & cutting curves to give each the elegant and appropriate shape and beautifully tailored each piece is enhanced with luminous embroidered patterns for a perfect, stylish look! We check each piece over multiple times, moved through different stages of packaging before sending it out to our customers in the most beautiful way possible! Each of our articles is manufactured with fine quality materials, ensuring that it has long-lasting performance.

Though it was not so easy as you know beginning is always hard. As a newbie entrepreneur, you may feel overwhelmed at times. The journey to be your best self starts with taking risks and

challenges. By overcoming challenges, you can see new possibilities in your life. Keeping in view, I finally took a fresh start and kept my spirits high.

Entrepreneurs face challenges at the beginning of their ventures and I have been through the same thing. The biggest challenge I faced as a Veil fashion designer was acceptance in the Pakistan’s fashion industry. While promoting my brand on different channels, I faced several rejections by saying that don’t use veil while brand promotions at morning shows. Due to my veil, I endured harsh behaviors of many designers, but I didn’t give up and continued to struggle. As a fashion designer wearing a veil, I wanted to show that a woman can also succeed in the industry. This is what I have done better than everyone else. I have proved everyone wrong, worked hard and put my efforts to grow more. In fact, I learned a lot of things that helped me get even further and helped clarify my goals, seeing how my business grows, over the years and dealing with different situations and learning from them.

Now I believe that the only thing that makes an entrepreneur is to overcome these obstacles and start a business. If you feel that your current situation is too much of a struggle, then I’m here to tell you that it is not over yet. You can still make it! There are lots of ways out there but first things first. So, I would say you have to keep your head up, face the challenges and move towards success.

As I told you that I had a very difficult and challenging path, and even everyone told me that I couldn’t do it, but now I’m somehow an example of success. Whenever I go outside and meet different entrepreneurs, I feel myself proud as I was able to achieve something that seemed impossible for me. This has taught me a lot about myself and how to deal life’s challenges. During my entrepreneurial journey, I learned so many things and got boundless opportunities to work and grow. I would say it has been a challenging yet rewarding journey for me. Now, with the growing awareness and popularity of fashion brands amongst women, they are struggling at the beginning of their business ventures, coming up with so many new concepts ahead of them. It is not hard to get started but it does take hard work and consistency.

I hope my experience will help others who have an opportunity like this to succeed at whatever they are trying to achieve.
source: biztoday