LCF alumni brand Quillattire moves from London to LA
- Written byJ Tilley
- Published date 27 October 2022
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Some LCF Stories readers may recognise Quillattire, a sustainable streetwear brand founded by BA (Hons) Fashion Pattern Cutting alumna, Priya Jangda. The brand conceived under the motto 'I am who I am. Your approval is not needed', has taken the industry by storm in recent years and we caught up with Priya to hear about her journey moving her brand from London to a new home in LA. Priya tell us more...
Who doesn't want to move to work where there is more sun and sea with the added bonus of fashion opportunities? Moving from London to LA was not an easy decision - I fell in love after my trip in April and saw what opportunities I could create here. The whole process was scary - I was moving to the other side of the world! I had to save and ensure I had a plan before I booked those tickets. I set up many meetings beforehand, and made sure I was selected to stock in the Wolf & Badger store down Melrose Avenue - or justifying the trip would make no sense. I was going to create business opportunities in LA, not a holiday.
Collating all my pieces of stock, and picking which pieces to take as I would be business as usual when i got to LA was hard - a studio into 2 suitcases! I packed my sewing machine into my hand luggage, my embroidery machine into 2 suitcases. I didn't really pack anything for myself just basics. 95% of the luggage was dedicated to my stock.
As glorious as the move sounds, having to network from scratch takes a lot of energy as you have got to create every single opportunity but the people in LA are all up for helping each other creatively. I secured two photoshoots in the first two weeks of getting to LA. I got in contact with photographers, models, & stylists and everyone was so keen. This would not be the same energy I would get in London sometimes, it's a lot harder to do collaborations. I also managed to book myself in for a sustainable talk I will be doing at the Fashion Design Institute, which is one of the Fashion Universities in LA. Super excited to help students learn about the reality behind setting up a sustainable business and show them what i have managed to create.
I have had to find suppliers for my ready-to-wear which I do not think I have perfected just yet but I am sure I will. I had an incident with a supplier, I paid but when I got the product I was not happy with the quality! Learning who is good, reliable, and who is cost-effective but loves the earth is one of the processes which takes up a lot of time and patience but i am determined to get to the bottom of it!
Summing up the experience of setting up my brand from scratch in a different country is very scary but I am super motivated and determined and I have to make this work. Life is all about taking calculated risks, and this is probably the biggest one I have made so far other than quitting my full-time job to set up my own brand. I would advise anyone thinking of doing this to have a plan, and create opportunities before you get to your destination so you have dates in the diary. Check how viable your business will be in the country. Most of my countries are from the US so I knew this would be a good move for my brand. Make sure you enjoy the experience, there are so many fun activities to do here, and weekends are booked for exploring.
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