Voila, Viola!

LWIS will spend a lot of time discussing established brands and labels, tracking trends and forecasting fashions. However, we at S&M believe in mixing it up to keep things fresh and interesting, so we’ll also sometimes be profiling and interviewing raw talent and newcomers to the scene. What better time to start than with our first Fresh Face? 

Meet Fariha Tashmeen Tinny, a BBA student with big dreams and an eye for fashion. Her story begins in the seventh grade, when, emboldened by her efforts at creating outfits for the cartoon characters her friends used to draw, she decided to design her own dress for the class party. Right then, she knew what she was meant to do.

Fast forward to the present where she’s enrolled at the Independent University, Bangladesh. At this point, she had been designing her own clothes and styling for her friends for a few years. Observing the attack of fashion clones around her, she realised something. “I hardly find any showroom in Bangladesh that sells quality designs for western outfits. I’ve seen people complaining more about their designs than the price.” She knew an opportunity when she saw it, and on February this year, launched Viola, an online clothing store, exclusively on Facebook.

As of now, being a new project, the marketing for the venture has been very low-key, and the store boasts a modest, but growing client base. How this works is, you add Fariha on Facebook, and she adds you to the private group where you can browse the current catalogues and place your order. Viola – so named because its petite creator is a self-confessed “purple freak” – offers tops, tunics, cocktail and party dresses at affordable prices. All items are customised to the buyer, because she wants to cater to all shapes and sizes. The company slogan is ‘Unmatched Design’, which means you won’t be picking a mass-produced style off the rack; rather, your outfit is tweaked to make you stand out.

Like many in the business, Fariha doesn’t have formal training in the field, but calls her work ‘an education in progress’. Combining her own innate sense of style with a lot of trial and error, research and practice, her repertoire grows through hard work and experience. Her favourite designers include Manish Malhotra and Sabyasachi Mukherjee for their experiments in colour, and Jean Paul for his classic and epoch designs, and Ayesha Depala for her progressive approach to style.  At present she is focusing on tunics, shirt-dresses and party frocks, but plans to add items like corset dresses, high-waisted pants and more to her new collection very soon.

Sink or swim, Viola deserves kudos for initiative, and we`re keeping our eyes peeled and our fingers crossed.