ASAII: Telling Stories Through Hand-Painted Shirts
Fashion has increasingly become an extension of our personalities. In a land as diverse as India, our attire can define our region, our culture, and a variety of things. There is no shortage of different fashion brands, fast, cheap, and replaceable, cheap on the pocket, but accruing a high destructive cost to the environment.
Brands nowadays are becoming more aware, but rather than making sustainability boring, their dash of creativity makes it even more appealing. This brings us to ASAII, a brand started by Nimisha Bathla. This idea took place in Goa 4 years ago, and multiple ideas were flung around during the brainstorming period, but hand-painted shirts would be their main product.
As a child, her father would pick and choose clothes, trying his best to insert his opinion into those choices even today. On the other hand, her mum used to hand-paint canvas and was a brilliant artist, and Nimisha took a fancy to it.
Back in the day, there weren’t a lot of options for natural paints, so her mum would mostly use acrylic colours. While art and shirts played a pivotal role in her life. After moving out of the house at 17 for college, she gained newfound freedom to express herself, constantly hunting for cooler clothes.
But every fit check, every outfit felt incomplete without a shirt. During that time, she realised that there was a huge gap in the market for women's shirts, a phenomenon that has significantly changed in the last few years. She recalls her experience of the crisp cotton shirts that were tailored and not very comfortable. So, when she started, it wasn’t simply about identity but closing that little gap in the market.
Nimisha has a Bachelor’s in Fashion Studies from NIFT Bangalore, then worked for a fashion brand in Gurgaon called Andaman for a while, post which she decided to pursue a Master's in Fashion and Luxury Management from Paris.
Since Nimisha is buoyed by her thesis in sustainability, in her own words, is ‘super against chemicals.’ She wanted to hand-paint shirts, insisting on natural colours.
She researched the topic and found a company in India that provides natural colours, and the journey started from there. They launched with shirts and then got into different products like shorts and jumpsuits.
Customised Shirts That Tell a Story
In these last 13-14 years, having travelled from place to place, country to country, the real binding factor and the cultural differences she asserts are stories.
You meet people, and it changes, especially in their conversations. And then wanting to capture the true essence of this spirit, became one of the verticals for the brand. They’ve done stories on the dabbawallas, the Taj, and the local trains as a tribute to Bombay. The Susegad Goenkar (quiet Goan) has his own collection reflecting the laid-back, serene nature of the state.
The unique aspect of ASAII, she believes, is really tapping into an emotion. They currently have two verticals, one of which is inspired by different stories of the cities and captures them on the fabric. The other is about creating custom pieces for individual customers, which she confesses is her favourite part of the job.
Here, they try to create something based on some emotionally resonant memories; it could be a special attachment with a certain object and incident, or maybe even a small corner in a room where you feel shielded from the harsher realities of the world.
Recalling one of her sweetest customer testimonials, she indulges us with one of the first customised assignments she undertook.
In Goa, someone she knew wanted to gift a customised shirt to his wife. The thing was that his wife’s dad had passed away when she was really young, and her dad’s birthday was going to come up, so he wanted to gift her something that could act as a remembrance of her dad. Creating a memory of her with her dad was the main aim.
Back in the day, her dad had this old Bajaj scooter with a huge tyre at the back, a visor helmet, a watch on his right hand, a shirt tucked into those high-waist pants with a belt. He would stand in front of the school gate to pick her up, and she would stand in the front part, after which they would go grocery shopping. So, they really wanted to recall that memory with a design, and it's one of the most endearing stories of her journey so far.
When asked about struggles, she identifies that struggles are a constant part that never really dissipates. We just learned how to deal with them. She states that ASAII is still in the very initial stages of its journey, so establishing hand-painted shirts as a premium product still takes time.
Embroidery has been part of Indian fashion for a long time. No one would speak about it, thinking of it as a premium product till few brands really made a mark and shifted this perspective. Nimisha believes that such a push has now made people perceive hand-embroidered work as a premium product.
The struggles of creating a hand-painted clothing brand
With hand paintings, there is still a lack of awareness, and even though it requires a lot of effort, people feel that our pricing is sometimes a little too expensive. She feels like it’s a struggle, but sees some hope, stating the example of Alia Bhatt, who wore a hand-painted dress to Cannes, intricately painted by self-taught artist Basuri Chokshi.
Reminiscing about early rejection, Nimisha opened up about her early days in Goa, where she had a small studio space, and people could come by to buy and see our products. One of the most disheartening things was that some customers would come in laden with expensive attire and jewellery, questioning the price of her hand-painted shirts. According to her, it was disheartening to try to convince them of the value of the craft.
When speaking about some essential learnings as a founder, building the right team and delegation were at the top of the list. She amusingly stated that as a designer, she’s also a control freak. Educating yourself in the craft and business is a constant, and she’s still learning to delegate.
As parting advice for founders getting started on their journey, she recalled advice given by one of her mentors - Be shameless but have grit. It’s a line that has helped her navigate all the ups and downs, while continuing to move forward. Honestly, it’s a mantra that most, if not all, should live by, whether in entrepreneurship or anywhere else.