Didihood ~ Issue 96

Spring is in full swing!

We are working ahead on some events for you this summer, including a co-pro with several South Asian women-led groups. Stay tuned.

Thank you for those of you who attended our first Vancouver event this past week — it was amazing connecting with Didis both new and old.

And while our Didi Creative Fund applications are closed, you can still donate to our community fund: we are currently at 63% of our goal! Your donation directly funds $500 micro-grants that help recipients access the resources they need to create, grow, and share their work.

Meet the Didi

This month we speak with founders Rupa and Natasha of JUNN — a lifestyle label rooted in culture, community and creativity. JUNN houses luxury South Asian fashion brands.

You two have recently relaunched to JUNN — tell us about this journey.

We are Rupa and Natasha, sole owners and visionaries behind the brand. We met over 20 years ago on our first week at McGill, best friends ever since. In search of something more than our 9-5s, we had a random idea to start a fashion company. We launched in 2018 as Live the Collective, as something fun and creative to try because of our love for Indian fashion. There was no real plan, we took a chance on messaging a designer and we just went for it. What started as something we thought we would do as a side hustle doing trunk shows on weekends, slowly started to grow.

When the pandemic hit, things halted, but once everything reopened we saw a big shift. People were not travelling as much, so there was a real need for access to designer wear locally. That is when things became really busy for us. We added a lot of new designers, opened up a home based showroom and started building out a small e-commerce presence. We had no hired help, it was just the two of us wearing many hats. Accountant, web designer, social media, the list goes on.

After a few years of running the business on the fly, we were both balancing full-time careers, it got to a point where we felt like we were not giving anything our all. We were neither here nor there. It became a bit frustrating, and we were at a crossroads of whether to shut it down completely or actually commit to doing it properly. We decided to go all in, and with that, we wanted to start fresh and more intentional, which is how JUNN came to life. More personal and reflective of who we are; a new foundation from branding, to website… here we are!

Both of you started in science spaces before taking on something creative, when did you make the decision to take this full-force?

We were putting in enough time that it felt significant, but not enough to be able to have any sort of growth or real success. We’re both very detail-oriented and methodical, coming from science backgrounds, and it was frustrating to not have bandwidth to apply that structure to the business. Natasha fully shifted her career path, and I (Rupa) decided to cut down my hours in dentistry. It’s cliche, but something happens when you hit 40, and it was important for us to make space for JUNN in our lives. We’re very intentional about where our energy goes, focused on building efficiency and systems that help support our journey. We have a long road ahead, but simply taking that leap of faith 6 months ago has already propelled us forward more than we have in years.

Walk us through those early days, what kept you both going?

For both of us, the biggest driver was the excitement of building something that did not exist before in Canada from scratch. Navigating designer partnerships, securing invites to fashion week, collaborating with creatives and influencers, and of course, those early client orders all felt like big wins. And doing it together, in a low-enough stakes way (no rent and still having our day jobs) allowed us to be adventurous and not scared to figure things out on the fly. We quite literally were ‘winging it’. Ultimately though, seeing the positive response from clients and how happy they were with the whole process was the most rewarding part. In a small way, we get to be a part of important moments in their lives, and knowing they had full trust in us to do so was very meaningful and motivating.

You both recently talked about making shopping experiences for South Asian clothing more accessible. What does this mean for you?

There is no shortage of in-person and online Indian shopping options, but accessibility means more than just availability; it’s about how people experience shopping. It means creating an experience where people feel seen, comfortable, and part of the process. It means curating a range of price points, so even within ‘designer’, there is hopefully something for everyone. An important consideration for us was size inclusivity too; many of the brands we work with add fees of 10-20% over a certain size, but we made the decision to keep pricing consistent across all sizes and absorb those extra costs so the JUNN experience felt the same for everyone. And of course, increased accessibility comes from a better understanding of what Indian designers are offering — we hope that we’re showcasing their tremendous talent and exquisite craftsmanship in a positive way that encourages our clients to want to invest in these pieces.

More specifically, how do you choose the styles for your site?

Refine, edit, and cut through the noise. That’s the motto we work by. We definitely don’t have the largest selection of designers compared to some retailers, BUT we are incredibly conscious of trying to pick the best designers for each category that we know work well in North America. So we audit our lineup regularly based on client feedback and what we see trending, making sure that we can present at least a couple of options for almost any client request. That’s taken some time, because we’re selective about who we partner with, but I feel like the collective of designers we carry today has a diverse range of products to offer.
 
I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but everything is intentional. I’ll give you an example of a bridal designer we carry who has hundreds of styles available to purchase. I can only keep 10-12 at a time in our showroom, so I’m very calculated about what’s coming in. We might say “one with pearl work, one with gota, something with zardozi, a long sleeve, a cap sleeve, a few neutrals, a couple of evening pieces, one with a veil, one with a longer style top, etc.” so that in our showroom you can hopefully see most of the elements they carry, and be confident when it comes to ordering the piece you want.

For the website too, not every piece from a designer’s collection makes it online. Decision fatigue is real when it comes to online shopping, so we choose styles that we think will resonate with our clientele, considering price points, weather and seasons, re-wearability, etc. We can always source any piece our brands carry if a client sees a specific piece they like, but we don’t want you to have to filter through 4,000 lehengas online just to browse.

Have you ever faced any hurdles trying to launch a brand? If so, how did you work through them?

We might need a whole other feature for that list — haha. Hurdles have been constant, as any small business owner will tell you. I think the biggest one was thinking we can do everything ourselves, and while that might be true, it does not mean we should be doing everything.

That approach held us back. It became overwhelming and not the best use of our time or energy. The shift happened when we started to really value our time and understand where we needed support. We began outsourcing and bringing in collaborators, and that has made a huge difference.

Growth comes from building the right community around you. Once we leaned into that, everything started to move forward in a much more sustainable and systematic way.

What would be your advice for Didis who are also in the fashion space and want to launch something on their own?

Just start! It sounds simple, but it’s true. Don’t wait for the perfect moment, figure things out as you go and the path starts to reveal itself step by step. Lean on friends and family, they have been our biggest support and cheerleaders throughout. If you’re truly passionate about fashion, it will show, it will come through, and hopefully people will recognize that and support your journey. At the end of the day, so many of us have that creative fire inside of us. You just have to trust yourself enough to begin and see where it takes you.

What we’re reading:

What we’re watching / listening to:

Canadian singer and songwriter Anjulie’s new hit, “Tell My Lips”.

@thisstoryaintover

ROMANCE BOOK RECS! BY SOUTH ASIAN AUTHORS 💖 Leave me your recs & faves in the comments 👇🏾 books mentioned: The Summers Between Us by Noree... See more

— Arti Patel

Issue 96
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