Hyderabad-based college dropout makes her designer dreams come true

Celebrity fashion designer Geetika Kanumilli may be a college dropout, but that hasn't stopped her from turning into a designer entrepreneur.
Geetika Kanumilli
Geetika Kanumilli

HYDERABAD:  Geetika Kanumilli has shaped a definite nook for fashion as a celebrity designer in 2015. From her collaborations with Lavanya Tripathi, Shalini Pandey, Samantha Akkineni, Trisha Krishnan, Rashi Khanna, etc. to her appearance as a speaker in TedX Griet (Broken Compass) and being featured for her label in international fashion magazines, she continues to extend her limits as a fabricator.

Born and brought up in Hyderabad, this NIFT dropout likes to keep her label classy and perceives that everyone should have their own style, it cannot be copied.

Life doesn’t always gives us lemons, and that's what happened in Geetika’s life as well. While she was preparing for her NIFT entrance examination, her vision started to get blur and she was rushed to the hospital immediately.

After a few check-ups in various hospitals both in Chennai and Hyderabad, she was diagnosed with antiphospholipid syndrome, a disorder in which our immune system mistakenly attacks normal proteins in the blood because of which she had to drop out in second year of her graduation after being selected despite a gap year.

Yet, nothing could stop her from becoming an outstanding fashion designer. On facing a lot of criticism after dropping out from college, she recalls, "People around me used to take a dig at me. I felt embarrassed of not possessing a degree but later on realised that I don’t owe any explanations to the people who aren’t a part of my close knit circle." 

Geetika didn’t dread criticism and began her own label. She gathered resources, approached small scale businesses and customers. She indeed failed the idea of attaining knowledge only through books.

Day after day of facing great difficulties she could see her label "Geetika Kanumilli Clothing" rising against all the odds. Different designers work in different ways and so does she. She explains her creative process to us.

"At first I look for an inspiration and then set the mood of my collection. Followed by sketching, sampling which includes draping and production of mini sized outfits. I think I am pretty good with colours. I have learnt everything on trial and error basis due to my drop out. I always try enhancing my client’s beauty instead focusing on how to hide their flaws," she says.

Geetika, a resident of Manikonda, works for women and kids apparel and is proud to be self employed. She designs for individual clients creating original garments for established fashion trends.

“Anything can inspiring from a beautifully handcrafted door or a garden or for that matter of fact lambadas near the traffic signals to the movies from 70’s and famous style icons.” She believes in encouraging newcomers for greater sustainability of fashion in the world. “We must also work on reducing waste because our industry is the second most industry in contributing to adding waste globally.”

From delivering a talk on TEDx Griet to being featured in global fashion blogs and magazines, she has come a long way. “Being featured alongside some influential fashion curators of our country like Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Tarun Tahiliani made me feel so grateful about whatever I have achieved in life so far despite all the difficulties I had to face.” She is currently excited about the launch of her new venture Bath and Glory. Her big dream? “Be the best designer in the country,” she adds.

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The New Indian Express
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