Masaba Gupta: The Making Of An Indian Lifestyle Empire

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Chances are you already know Masaba Gupta. And why wouldn’t you? Here’s a designer who has resonated with Indian milennials like no other. It’s no surprise that she was in Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2017! (Click here to shop her collection!) Masaba made waves in Indian design when she launched her first ever collection in 2010. Fast forward 10 years, she’s starring in her own Netflix series.

Here are 4 lessons we can learn from Masaba Gupta’s top business moments:

1. How to specialise in your niche

She’s not called the queen of print for nothing! Before Masaba, very few designers explored bold, vibrant and well-engineered prints. Her first collection featuring tamil alphabets, cows, cameras, lipsticks continues to strike a chord with both consumers and celebrities that were ready to experiment, and more importantly, have FUN with fashion! Her designs have evolved over time, but they’ve never lost touch with what the brand stands for.

2. How to use co-creation as a brand building tool

Masaba has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to business. Whether it’s collaborations, collection drops or brand building, she’s always thought outside the box. Case in point – her brand collaborations that have been instrumental in building brand visibility. We know of the collabs with Puma, Nykaa, Tribe by Amrapali and Rhea Kapoor, but she also explored unfamiliar territory through strategic partnerships with Tata Nano, UNEP and Game of Thrones amongst many others.

3. How to amplify brand voice on social

People look at Masaba as a millennial icon is because she’s the perfect mix of realism and aspiration. In addition to her powerful, opinionated instagram personality, she’s also found ways to make her brand more exciting to her shoppers through versatility in size, styles, customisation services, instagram or digital drops, pop ups in each city. Moreover, Masaba is her best customer – no one styles and wears her clothes better than she does and that comes from being authentic.

4. How to understand your audience

It’s fair to say that Masaba’s loyal customer base is fairly global. International shoppers love her resort-wear aesthetic that is, mind you, also well priced for an Indian designer piece. She has a penchant for using the right channels to engage with shoppers and Netflix is the newest one on the block!

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