Desi Wear

:: www.desiwear.com ::

Entrepreneur Manny Brar is a risk taker and definitely not shy about it, although he believes it's not the norm. “Indians are the most affluent minority group in North America and the U.K., but we're also the shyest people,” Brar said.

Brar, along with brother Jas and friend Suvin Malik have been running the enormously successful Desi Wear clothing line for the past decade. “Anyone can wear our stuff, and it identifies to all Indians. We're a branded logo, and what we're doing essentially is socially conscious chill wear.”

Not that the road to success hasn't been bumpy.

“I'm a Jat Sikh Punjabi- you try and tell your parents that your going to start your own clothing line. They thought I was crazy!” After graduating from McGill with a degree in Finance, Brar work as an investment banker for three years. “I decided this was what I really wanted to do. I bet if I'd been doing this right out of high school, it would have been a lot bigger than it is right now.” On the other hand, the risks were enormous and a formal education essential. “This business could also have flopped. Every day I would wake up and think, 'Am I doing the right thing?' Then I'd come into the office and see 10 or 15 orders from around the world.”

Desi Wear started out as a hobby that Brar and Co. pursued on weekends and during summer hiatus. He now has ten full-time employees responsible for the website, as well as design and production. “So what started out as a very small, grassroots thing in Toronto has now expanded worldwide,” Brar said, adding, “we have no boundaries.”

The secret to Desi Wear's success is the personal, hand's on approach taken to every order. The main showroom is based in Oakville and production is done in-house with a vertically-integrated plan. Long delays are unacceptable, and back orders don't go beyond a 2 to 3 day waiting period.

Brar admits that he's not a fashion designer, but that his knowledge of fabrics and trends has matured. “We're inspired by the East-West fusion, dreams, songs, even slang. At the beginning, we were all about the grassroots culture, 'it's not just about black and white.' Just with the logo out there,” Brar said. “It wasn't until we started going for that whole vintage-retro based Indian theme with a message other than 'Desi Wear' that the line blew up. If the fashion climate changes next year, we'll alter our theme.”

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Brar said he intentionally avoided religious and cultural segregation, which is why he never designed a t-shirt with a khanda or an om symbol. “Our guideline from day one has been to unite, not segregate the groups. This isn't a Hindu thing or a Punjabi thing...Desi Wear stands for unity.” Brar said that his cultural influences are wide ranging, which is why consumers from other communities are endorsing the product line. “As all good young fashion companies, we're going to mimic the pop culture with our South Asian influences in mind. That's our primary goal.”

He's inspired by Toronto's unique multicultural vision, which is one of the reason's why Desi Wear remained a Canadian company.

“I love Toronto, I love that we're based here and that we started out here. We're completely inspired by growing up in a predominantly Desi population in the GTA,” Brar said. He revealed that early research indicated that 80% of sales were coming from outside Canada, in the United States and the United Kingdom, despite 80% of the advertising budget being spent in Canada. “Desi's in Canada, especially in Toronto, are pretty confident about their identity, Americans seem hungrier for a stamp.” He said the website gets daily hits from places such as Kansas, New Mexico, Iowa and California requesting orders. “Toronto has a very mature South Asian culture. We know what we are, we know what we want to do and may not need that 'label' because India's everywhere.” Brar added that because Desi Wear is a local company, they face additional challenges in regards to mainstream success.
“Many artists aren't huge in Toronto until they go to the States, that's what's happening to us now.” Brar said that this mentality was disappointing because the clothing line, despite being driven by South Asians wouldn't be considered “legit” in the Indian market until it reached the mainstream consumer. Brar also finds it ironic that the same people who refused to wear anything with the “desi” logo on it a few years ago now want to wear the clothing line since “Brown became the new Black.”

He admits to having detractors, but also said that they never really had any valid arguments or complaints against the actual product line. “FUBU was a four letter word that identifies an entire community. That's what DESI stands for.”

Ethnic-inspired clothing is a growing niche market, and Brar admits he doesn't know if it will remain a long standing trend or a fashion fad.

Despite the growing competition, he encourages anyone who wants to enter the business. “We know the hardships we've gone through to get here and it's not easy. I'm not worried about my competition,” Brar said. “I'd only call it a rip off if someone took our exact product line and copied it. That's our intellectual property and we've laboured hard for it.”

Today, Brar is grateful to friends and supporters such as Bend it Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha, whom he met at a SASA conference two years ago. During the Toronto film release, Chadha wore a custom made soccer jersey and has introduced celebrities Parminder Nagra, Kal Penn and Aishwarya Rai to the line. Brar said that Chadha plans on incorporating the signature line in her upcoming projects. Her support has been phenomenal. “If it wasn't for Gurinder, we wouldn't be here today.” Desi Wear has also secured an exclusive contract with the makers of the groundbreaking film, American Desi. “We have a deal to produce all the custom clothing for the film's sequel,” Brar said excitedly.

Despite their growing popularity, Desi Wear remains true to their grassroots cause. “All of our clothing is completely sweatshop-free and is made in North America,” Brar said. “Our pricing scheme's pretty decent- $25 for a t-shirt. Of course, a lot of Indians will say 'Oh, I can do that for $10.' Besides producing unbelievable quality, we believe in an international minimum wage.” Brar said that most of the Fruit of the Loom shirts are made in China where people earn between $2 and $10 per month. Desi Wear manufacture through American Apparel, a company based in New York, Los Angeles and Montreal. “They (American Apparel) are considered the industry standard,” Brar said. “We've visited their shops in New York City, where people get paid $12 to $14 an hour.”

As for the near future, look for Desi Wear to hit a retailer near you. They are currently set to launch the line at Square One, Fairview Mall, and at City of Angels on Queen Street. Brar said that the company will continue to produce “smart, trendy, chilled out club wear.”
I'm not really catering to the hip hop culture so much anymore- t-shirts are so in right now and I personally want to wear a cool, fitted t-shirt to a club. That's what 85% of our line is right now.”

Don't forget to check out a Baby Desi line, possibly by this Christmas. “The demands there,” Brar laughed. “We'll have bib's, suits...it's gonna be our stuff for cook pukka-walla kids!”

Jasmin Sandhu