Style at Work

Ace your power dressing game

NAZIA ERUM, 31 Founder, The Luxury Label, Noida www.theluxurylabel.in

Working as a communications consultant for the Global Funds Secretariat, an international funding agency, Nazia Erum often had to meet women leaders from different sectors such as multinationals, journalists and educationists. She always wondered that while these women were good at their work, they seemed overly concerned about what to wear to work. This intrigued her and she wanted to understand what they were looking for. “I wanted to create a brand that wouldn’t morph their dressing lifestyle but would give them an international look while retaining the Indianness at its core,” says Erum, who quit her job with the Global Funds Secretariat in 2014 and launched her workwear brand, The Luxury Label in 2015. She started with lightweight, wrinklefree sherwanis. With no knowledge of fashion design, she braved all odds as she chose her niche around collections for powerful women. “Our sherwani doesn’t have extra padding on the shoulders as it doesn’t fit well on Indian bodies. We have worked on button gaps and the bust areas and these pieces can be worn to work, while one is travelling for work as well as at home,” she says. And the sherwanis can be paired with leggings, trousers, jeans and saree or can be worn as a jacket. A self-funded brand, Erum is now focussing on launching a line of linens with raw materials from Kolkata and abroad. Price `4,000-`9,000