Verve

Vivacious, lively and full of life - even these words don’t do justice to the thriving Indian culture. I love my Indian ethnicity and all the fashion I get to indulge in. The deep intensity of colors and rich fabrics, the different textures and intricacy of embroidery, Indian fashion is art. I look forward to special occasions so I can throw on a beautiful outfit, making me feel like nothing but a princess.

I am sure many of us can relate when it comes to bringing our cultural identities to the forefront with our fashion and clothing. Some of us feel out of place and others are proud to wear the pieces that stem from the history and heritage of our ethnic backgrounds. This is exactly what the girls at Verve had in mind, my feature start-up for this week, who are bringing their identities as women of minority and their love of fashion to their new e-commerce platform, vervestyles.com. Placing value on unity and advancement through one thing we all can never take out of our hearts - fashion. 

The world of fashion defines competitiveness with the reach of customers extending beyond traditional means. So, in a market where everyone is hoping to make it big, how are these budding start-ups standing against the likes of the Dior's and Prada's. The key is differentiation, and this is where the girls of Verve step in. Discarding differentiation out the door and turning the meaning on its head. A brand that resonates with diversity and inclusiveness, and a platform aimed at submerging cultural differences into one. 

Verve believes in empowering women of color to embrace their own cultural identity and the opportunity to allow different cultures to blend together on a common platform. “It is a source of inspiration and bliss where women discover curated influences ranging from a contemporary to a global lifestyle. [More importantly,] it’s a place where she can reflect on her personal style and become part of a movement – to change the face of the fashion industry.” – Rupali Monga, Co-Founder, Verve.

They have shone light on a hard truth in the fashion industry evident through their research. You can only find a mere 1% of designers of color in major department stores. Less than 3% of African-American, 2% of Indian & Middle Eastern and less than 2% of Latin models were featured at New York Fashion Week. Less than 20% of fashion magazine covers feature models of color.

Verve styles is breaking the barrier of mainstream fashion and lack of representation in the fashion industry. Not to mention, these girls are making it personal and hitting it home with all us kids from minority backgrounds who kind of got lost in the race by becoming the doctors, engineers and lawyers. Personalization, a thriving facet in businesses today, doesn't get any more accurate than this where we as customers can see and wear our cultural identities proudly. 

Verve's mission and efforts are directed towards drawing a string of love through the various people they have partnered with, that being a love of fashion and a love of standing together as one. 

To my friends at Verve, wish you nothing but the best and all the courage to make this brand a legacy in the world of fashion.