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7. Celebrating the Doyenne: Asha Gupta

“For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” ~ Virginia Woolf. On this International Women’s Day, GlobalSpa recognizes and celebrates the women in the industry as we delve into their success mantra they follow, mistakes that have helped them grow, and of course, their WELLNESS philosophy.

Asha Gupta is the Founder of the label Asha Gautam. With Asha's creativity and her honed skill of up-cycling, she brought to life the Indian bridal line using techniques like appliqué, rich embroideries like Convent and French Knots, Nib Painting, Bandhani and Chikankari. The brand uses weaves from Kota Dori, Real Banarasi Zari, and Paithani, further essaying a new design story.

What is your wellness philosophy?

For me, wellness is to be happy, healthy and peaceful within. I believe self-care and self-love are the most important pillars of being well. So I spend my free time mostly with people who I enjoy being with and also spend my time doing things which I love the most. There are times when I have to move out of my comfort zones, but then slowly and steadily I have conditioned my mind. I also do a lot of yoga and meditation, making me more active and relaxed even when things don’t happen the way I want. Lastly, work in a way that you enjoy your work and daily work life and, yes, it might not be all seamless at times, but if you love your work, then some tough moments will also sail through.

Your success mantra?

Well, success for me was about making Indian textiles and crafts more relevant to the world, giving more opportunities to our artisans, and creating an identity for myself. There are a few things which I feel worked for me. Firstly, my eternal love for my work is growing with each passing year. I love designing and it is just not a business or money for me, so no matter where I reach, I will still want to do it more every day and this appetite is what keeps me going for the past 25 years. Secondly, working hard has no substitute and I always try to work harder than anyone else in my organization. This inspires others and you set the benchmark for your team. Thirdly, one has to evolve and accept changes, especially in the digital era. Fashion is a very evolving industry in the world and may be second after IT, so we have to predict future lifestyle changes well in advance. Fourth, be ethical to the people who work for you and, with that, I mean taking good care of them, paying them respectfully and making them grow along with you. So there are many artisans who have been working with me for the past 25 years and people like these have built Asha Gautam. Lastly, don't own the brand/s but work for it so for me Asha Gautam is a thought, and it has an ideology, philosophy, language and aesthetics attached to it so I have to respect that and work within that brand bible and let others also have more say in it to make it grow.

A lesson you learned from making a mistake?

One of the biggest lessons was not to trust people blindly and I have burnt my fingers badly twice doing that. Second is the need to communicate what you and your brand stand for. I realized how marketing and branding work very late. We did a lot of innovative things in the past but didn’t tell our story of “what we do” and “why we do” and that was a big mistake.

Any piece of advice for all the women out there?

Never doubt yourself, keep working hard towards your goals and even if things don’t work out, learn your lessons and don’t give up. Don’t let comparison pull you down and up skill yourself.

What has been your biggest pride as a doyenne?

Asha Gautam is completing 25 years, and this is my biggest pride. Starting with no resources and limited knowledge to reach here, this brand has given my life a strong meaning, made me love Indian textiles and embroideries more and made a livelihood for more than 200 families. So these endless hours of daily work to create this thoughtful brand- Asha Gautam, designing timeless and heirloom pieces, forming a re-invented ecosystem of textiles and fashion and an ethical and growth oriented work culture give me immense pride.