Stall Holder – Indigoz
We are talking to Heena and Nishat, the sisters behind the brand Indigoz.
Where does the name come from?
Nishat: It’s India and Oz for Australia, and indigo is like the indigo dye, which is very important in the history of India – so the name brings these elements together. It’s to strengthen the connection between the two countries, because we love being in Australia and we love India so we want to bring that together.
What do you sell?
N: We sell clothes and jewellery in women’s fashion. Sustainability is the core of our brand.
How does that take shape in your creations?
All products are carefully selected with qualities that are good for our planet and communities. All clothes are created with pure materials in timeless cuts and fashion to last for a long time.
So this is a real rejection of fast fashion?
N: Yes! That’s very much at the core of the whole idea.
Heena: Those people who want to never be seen wearing the same thing twice – this is not for them. These are clothes to wear for years and years.
How is it working with your sister?
N: We have both grown a lot around these things – we have a lot of common passion and understand each other very well at a very high level. And professionally we come from very different backgrounds so one of us is more creative, one of us is more business, and we create the two different sides of it.
Was there anything about creating this label that you didn’t expect?
H; Honestly we didn’t think Australians would know much about fabric, because so much here is synthetic. But customers here are very aware of the good quality – they can feel the fabric and appreciate it. We didn’t expect that they would know the difference between linens and cottons – but they can tell. This is our second pop up. We launched the website 4 months ago, and it has gorgeous photos – but the difference between online and in person is amazing. When people come and feel the dresses they absolutely love it, they know the quality.
Who is this this for, what is their style?
H: People who want sustainable, high quality but you don’t need to empty your pockets. Mid 20’s – mid 50’s women, more mature women love this style – the cuts and designs and variety. Its people who like slow fashion. There’s flexibility to customer make everything so we can cater for all body types. We don’t have a lot of stock because we don’t want mass produced, and it’s all handmade so we can’t.
Your mum is here with you today – what’s her role in this company.
H: She is our support – the reason we have these values. She’d why we know what the good quality cotton is. When we were children growing up in India she would take us to the markets to buy the fabric for our clothes. She would feel it all and find the best quality ones, then we would go with her to the person who dyes the fabric or who embroiders the fabric then to the tailor to make the clothes. She understands the artisans and the craft very well and passed that knowledge onto us. And she has great style. As a single mum she has made us what we are.
Insta @Indigoz