Global Fashion Collective Shines At Paris Fashion Week

I met with Sandeep Dalal at The Spur to talk about his new business venture called Choltry, a company helping women of all income levels to uplevel their wardrobe. Sandeep is creating a compassionate lane in the $117B fashion sector.

If you’re a woman looking to dress to impress at work without spending beyond your means, Sandeep has you covered.  His platform, Choltry is an online retail service that rents premium office wear at $9.95 per week, including free shipping and dry cleaning. (Yes, you read that correctly!) For less than $10 a week women now have the opportunity to revamp their professional wardrobe in a way that’s sustainable and fashionable.

Sandeep grew up in New Delhi where he received his MBA and began working in IT.  He then moved to Seattle where his idea for Choltry was sparked after watching his wife organize her closet where he observed many designer dresses and finding out that she purchased them early in her career as an intern when she was receiving a paycheck that did not support her wardrobe needs. Sandeep got to work solving the problem of how to provide great clothes for professional women who have a limited budget and often, little time for shopping.

Choltry which means a place to rest is empowering women to look and feel their best without having to leave the comfort of their own home. Offering over 25 styles, the site eases the stress of the working woman at a price point that would cost less than the weekly dry cleaning bill.

So how on earth is Sandeep able to offer premium and such well-made dresses at such a low price? At Compassionate Leaders Circle, Sandeep is what we would call a "launcher," meaning that his purpose and vision is launching or growing an enterprise. Building the right partnerships has been crucial to his success and the "secret sauce" for how he keeps his shockingly low price point. "It all comes down to team".

Prom Dresses UK

Why The Fashion Industry Needs To Turn On To Hemp

On the surface, the fashion industry had a good year in 2018, with Americans spending $391.5 billion on clothing and footwear. That was a 4% increase year-over-year and the highest level of growth since 2011 when spending increased 5.1%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis NIPA table 2.3.5.

But digging into the data further, Americans have steadily decreased their share of disposable income on clothing and footwear, sliding from 3.8% in 2007 to 3.0% in 2019, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. Even more alarming though is at the turn of the century fashion's share of Americans' spending was 4.9%.

In simple terms, American consumers are losing their interest in what fashion brands have on offer. Otherwise they'd be devoting a greater share of their wallets to updating their wardrobes. The fashion industry needs some radical new ideas to get back on American's shopping lists.

Hemp may be one of those radical new ideas. Hemp would give fashion brands a new story to tell their customers, one that is first and foremost sustainable and good for the planet.

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