Sustainability is the future of fashion. If we do not make healthy choices as we enjoy fashion now, posterity will be hurt because of us.
Ahluwalia is one brand that has sustainability at its heart. Sustainable fashion is its delight and that delights us too. There is hope for a future in fashion.
About The Ahluwalia Brand
Priya Ahluwalia started the fashion brand Ahluwalia in the UK where she was born to a Nigerian father and an Indian mother. Despite being the very academic child who always had straight A’s, Priya surprised her parents by insisting on a career in fashion instead of becoming a Doctor.
Her journey into fashion which would later become the beginning of the road for the brand Ahluwalia started in UCA where she studied fashion.
She graduated there and worked with Beyonce’s Ivy Park and Wales Bonner before proceeding to do her MA at the University of Westminster. It was at UW that her passion for sustainability was kindled.
She then decided to make a difference so that the world in year 2043 won’t be depleted as predicted by one of her lecturers.
With the spark burning slowly in her heart, she visited her father in Lagos, Nigeria where she discovered a market full of second-hand clothing. That caught her curiousity and the spark in her became an ember. She went ahead to visit Panipat in India and discovered something similar too.
Set on fire by those two experiences, Priya launched her first fashion collection upon her graduation in 2018. With the collection, her eponymous brand was launched, and she has not looked back ever since.
Collections
The brand started with the SS19 collection. In it were patchwork trench coats, denim jackets, vintage jerseys and bold colours splashed around. Her collection was a hit as it was shown at the London Fashion Week in 2019 and it won her an H&M design award that same year.
The designer continued to do what she enjoyed, creating fashionable styles out of secondhand clothing. She has released 4 more collections after the first, all menswear. They include jerseys, trench coats, hoodies, shorts socks and denim jackets with African and Indian patterns and prints finding their way into it.
In this year 2021, she released a collection named “Liberation” inspired by the violence against black people around the world. The collection was full of trench coats with dull colours like brown, wine, black and navy blue.
Funding History
Winning the H&M Award in 2019 did the Alhuwalia brand a lot of good. There was the £3000 cash reward and publicity.
Shortly after, she was at the Paris Fashion Week, showcasing her collection and there she met big brands she partnered with in the beginning. The audience and partnerships made sales top-notch which resulted in more profits.
So far, the brand has been funded by its own profits.
Top Competitor
•Ozwald Boateng
Based in the UK too with African roots, sustainability in its heart and over 25 years of experience, Ozwald Boateng is a suitable competitor for Ahluwalia. The renowned menswear brand focuses on outfits for men, such as suits, jackets, and tail pants.
There are several sustainability events you can attend this week. You can click here to check them out.
