Arbitrator of Ability

She talks fast, thinks faster and gets work done the fastest. Ishita Saluja and Nikhil Mehra introduced Kynaa in 2013, a multi-designer store, which pioneered the sale of experimental garments by upco
Ishita Saluja
Ishita Saluja

Ishita Saluja, 28

Fashion Retailer

She talks fast, thinks faster and gets work done the fastest. Ishita Saluja and Nikhil Mehra introduced Kynaa in 2013, a multi-designer store, which pioneered the sale of experimental garments by upcoming designers.

Welcoming fresh fashion by unknown men and women became their brand cachet —a value system that endorsed and validated new ability. Kynaa was a far cry from the vanity of supercilious fashion ambition. Instead, it was a talent house for laudable débutantes.

The two stayed away from the boastful bandwagon of big brands and invited in youngsters who believed in imagination and innovation. “People were doubtful about our merchandise initially. We were looked at with suspicion for a long time and then suddenly one day, it took off,” says Ishita.

She got a degree in fashion merchandising from Pearl Academy of Fashion in 2013, after which she worked with Reebok and then with designer Rajesh Pratap Singh. Back then, still a novice in the industry, she noticed the monopoly that well-known designers held. Her powers of observation and intuition gave her the direction where to invest her money and her mind.

“How surprising, I thought. New names always mean originality. They never bucketise clothes. Because there is no supply without demand, it creates a new league of customers receptive to a new fashion paradigm,” she says.

All design products sold at their store in Gurgaon co-exist in diversity, free from the baggage big names and bigger egos come with. They thrive in each other’s company, driven by creative satisfaction over just remunerative gain. 

“Clothes are a manifestation of art. Design is an idea that combines thought and emotion that you drape on your skin. It can neither be defined nor can be destroyed. It definitely cannot be allowed to the privilege of a few. Kynaa makes it clear,” says Ishita proudly.
 

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com