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Arts & Entertainment

A Passion for Fashion

Bridging two cultures, fashion designer Indu Arora came to the United States from India and started her own label, but her style is more 'Sex and the City' than ethnic.

Her fashions have been shown to an audience at the India Community Center, but her look is ultimately Western.

Designer Indu Arora says her design aesthetic is inspired by architectural shapes of San Francisco and the bright colors of her homeland. 

In Chattisgarh, a state in central India, she had always been interested in fashion—the aesthetics, the artistry, the raw materials—but few opportunities to pursue it as a career led to her enrolling in medical school, she said.

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“Back then, back there we didn’t have the amenities to pursue fashion designing," she said. "People did not consider [fashion designing] a career.”

When she got married–eventually settling in Cupertino with her husband–Arora latched on to the opportunity to start over and pursue her love for fashion in a new country.

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“[The] United States is the land of opportunity. I could change my passion.“

She started small, freelancing as a sketch designer for clients here and there. Eventually, she got a call to help a small company execute a denim order—150 pieces in three designs.

They thought that she had contacts for textile manufacturers in India, and she did. It was her first foray outside of sketching.

“It was great for me. I thought I can do more than just sketching and taking on smaller projects.”

Since then, she has delivered consistent, well-received designs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and on her website, Rockchiq.com, named after her label. 

She also started Pinkweave.com, an online boutique that carries her pieces and the work of other independent, or "indie" designers, both from the United States and abroad.

Five years ago, Arora registered her company, Indu Fashions, in Cupertino. Since then, she has raised enough capital to design full collections each spring and autumn.

And while local Indian boutiques can be found in the Bay Area, such as Milpitas' ,  and , her look is Western. 

“I was very inspired by Sex and the City. I saw that and I was so excited. I just wanted to indulge myself.”

Since 1998, Arora has grown steadily as a designer.  She has shown consistently, and last year her collection, 28 original designs, was shown at an event in San Francisco.  Her designs are sold throughout the Bay Area, including at Isabella Boutique in Sunnyvale.

Becky Davis, who assists owner Rose Marie Osario at the boutique, said Osario focuses on offering fun, chic looks that showcase innovative design. She likes to pick pieces that have a story, Davis said, and Arora’s designs have sold well there.

“I’m still in the process of making myself a well established designer,” Arora said. “I’ve always been interested [in fashion] playing with fabric and sketching. It’s thrilling.”

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