Our USP is premium luxury quality products at affordable pricing
MyDesignation has emerged as a disruptive force in India’s fashion landscape, redefining the concept of affordable luxury while staying rooted in its cultural origins. Founded in Thiruvananthapuram as the first-ever Malayali merchandise brand, it has steadily grown into a trailblazing D2C fashion community that celebrates individuality and empowers self-expression. With a unique blend of traditional art forms and contemporary design, the brand has achieved 100 per cent YoY growth for four consecutive years while remaining profitable—an achievement that underscores its sharp consumer insights, innovation-led product design, and uncompromising quality. Having recently raised $1.25 million in seed funding and strengthened its commitment to sustainability, MyDesignation is now preparing for wider national and international expansion. Speaking to Fibre2Fashion, CEO & Co-founder Swaroop Krishnan shares insights on growth, challenges, strategies, and the future of D2C fashion.
Your brand has achieved 100 per cent YoY growth for four straight years and stayed profitable. What is the secret behind that consistency?
Our strict D2C model gives us unparalleled access to first-hand consumer data, allowing us to understand not just what our customers buy, but why they buy it. This deep consumer insight helps us identify evolving preferences early, refine our product design, and personalise experiences in a way traditional retail cannot.
You just closed a $1.25 million seed round. How will those funds be prioritised across technology, offline expansion, hiring, and beyond?
The funds will be primarily directed towards strengthening technology, driving category development, and expanding the team.
With strong community involvement in product design via Instagram and D2C engagement, how do you translate feedback into innovation?
Our customers view us as a neighbourhood friend they can easily connect with, and that relationship is our greatest strength. While international brands may have centuries of legacy, very few foster such close day-to-day engagement on social media. This direct connection allows us to translate feedback quickly into meaningful product innovation.
How does MyDesignation define and deliver on the concept of ‘affordable luxury fashion’?
Premium luxury quality products, with months of innovation and craftsmanship, that too at affordable pricing, is our USP. We have consciously chosen to make it accessible without compromising on quality.
You do not rely on marketplaces—how has that independence shaped your customer experience and brand control?
We maintain full control over the customer experience—from order placement to post-delivery services—giving us deep insights into customer behaviour and enabling informed operational decisions. Moreover, having complete consumer data from day one has been a significant advantage, strengthening both engagement and brand control.
What challenges have you faced growing a fashion brand from Thiruvananthapuram to a national audience, and how did you overcome them?
The startup ecosystem is weak, especially for consumer brands, in Kerala. We never had the guidance or mentoring from anyone or bodies. Moreover, hiring the right talent has always been a hard step, as most people tend to move to tier 1 cities for better opportunities.
You plan to double your customer base—what strategies are you exploring to engage and retain new consumers?
We see vast potential in untapped geographies and sales channels. Having dominated only five states in South India, the rest of India—and even international markets—offer significant opportunities. We also plan to intensify offline expansion in our top 10 cities to engage and retain new consumers effectively.
How is the shift towards direct-to-consumer models reshaping brand-customer relationships in the fashion industry?
Unlike olden days, consumers are ready to try value-adding brands, even if they are startups. It is a big revolution!
What strategies are proving most effective for reducing return rates in online fashion retail?
Since we operate D2C, we maintain direct, conversational communication that simply is not possible on marketplaces. This closeness allows us to understand from the customer’s perspective. Every return is studied as valuable feedback, helping us refine sizing, fit, and product details while addressing customer pain points proactively. By staying engaged and listening, we not only minimise returns but also create stronger trust and loyalty. Ultimately, it is our constant interaction with customers that drives sustainable results in lowering return rates.
In an era of influencer marketing, how do you measure real ROI versus short-term hype?
We do not equate ROI with the outcome of a single campaign. We evaluate effectiveness across multiple KPIs and look at how content consistently resonates with the right audience. For us, it is not about short-term hype or going viral. In fact, a sudden spike can distort algorithms and limit our ability to study long-term advertisement performance. We believe true ROI comes from sustained, meaningful engagement and delivering the right content to the right audience, ensuring better ROAS (return on ad spend) over time rather than chasing momentary buzz.
What impact is AI-driven personalisation having on product design and inventory planning?
We leverage AI extensively for inventory forecasting, replenishment planning, and tracking sales velocity, which are linked to each SKUs. This ensures accuracy in knowing which store needs more stock and which does not, removing the need for manual intervention. It allows us to respond faster and more efficiently to demand fluctuations and improve availability. However, when it comes to product design, we believe AI is still evolving. True personalisation for us comes from direct customer interactions through chats, feedback, and market research insights, which provide the nuance and cultural context that AI alone currently cannot fully capture.
How are fashion brands balancing affordability with the rising demand for sustainable materials and practices?
At our brand, sustainability has never been a trend but a purpose we have been committed to for over five years. When we started, sustainable materials and packaging were significantly more expensive. For instance, packaging that once cost ₹12-15 is now just ₹4-5, because of rising demand. Initially, demand leaned heavily towards PVC dyes, but today the shift is firmly towards non-PVC alternatives. What once cost X for sustainable materials, we have been able to optimise to 0.5X without compromising quality. We believe that as demand continues to rise, the next 5-10 years will make sustainability even more affordable and accessible, allowing brands to balance responsibility with affordability seamlessly.
Looking ahead, what emerging fashion or D2C trends excite you the most, and how is MyDesignation preparing to lead them?
Quick commerce is one of the most exciting yet challenging phases of D2C, with consumers increasingly expecting same-day—or even one-hour—delivery. MyDesignation is preparing to lead this shift by adapting operations to meet these evolving expectations and ensuring a seamless, faster shopping experience.
