Young entrepreneur Nimesha Wijewardana always knew her career lay in fashion. From her young days she dreamed of being a designer. Today she is the proud owner of fashion brand Jane Rabel which is stocked in her store Fashion Hut on the High Level Road at Gansaba Junction in Nugegoda. The large store is well laid out and has a range of clothing to cater to most. Displaying an excellent work ethic this young mum of one has great plans for her newly opened store. 

Q WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START YOUR FASHION LABEL, JANE RABEL? I was interested in a career in fashion since my younger days. My  mother used to stitch me new fashionable outfits each week which everyone praised.  I always had this mind set to be an entrepreneur someday. I am quite passionate about fashion, I thought the industry that suits me the best was fashion. So here I am with the brand Jane Rabel and Fashion Hut.

Q HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE BRAND IDENTITY OF JANE RABEL? In fact, the meaning of “Jane Rabel” is basically “Gang of Women”. Initially our target was to launch trending designs to the young. Now with the new expansion we are focusing on all ages and a new store concept was launched to cater to a wide variety of fashion needs for all genders and kids. So all the brands will be under one store by the name “Fashion Hut." A few more brands are to be launched in the coming months. Additionally we are looking at doing a plus size collection too.

Q WHAT ARE THE CORE VALUES AND PHILOSOPHY BEHIND JANE RABEL? We mainly focus on quality, customer focus, innovation and reliability.

Q HOW DO YOU ENSURE YOUR DESIGNS REMAIN UNIQUE AND TRUE TO YOUR BRAND? First, we get a clear idea on what we need to achieve and what target audience we need to reach with our designs. Starting from the fabric selection, we maintain our focus until the finished product. We also do market research, analyze and get feedback from experts.

Q HOW DO YOU BALANCE CREATIVITY WITH THE COMMERCIAL ASPECTS OF RUNNING A FASHION LABEL? Understanding the target audience and their preferences is crucial. Researching current trends, identifying gaps in the market, and seeing what resonates with our ideal customer informs our creative decisions and ensure our designs have commercial appeal.

Q WHO IS YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE, AND HOW DO YOU ENGAGE WITH THEM? Well, that’s an interesting question. Fashion target audiences are incredibly diverse, with preferences as varied as the styles themselves. So, for now we are specific to women's fashion and like I stated above we will be expanding the range to cater to all genders. We always use our social media platforms to engage with our audience.

Q HOW HAS CUSTOMER FEEDBACK INFLUENCED YOUR COLLECTIONS OVER TIME? We started with a younger generation and based on our customer feedback we decided to expand the product range to all categories and all age groups. That’s why the Fashion Hut store concept was launched. We are happy to say that we were able to maintain the highest rating out of a large number of customer feedback in one of the main social media platforms. You hardly see this in most of the fashion labels in the country.

Q WHAT CAN CUSTOMERS EXPECT WHEN THEY VISIT FASHION HUT? The visual merchandise with curated displays. The store arranges the clothing in a way that showcases different styles and outfits. This can help to visualize how pieces might work together. Mood setting with music, lighting, and even scent can all contribute to the overall atmosphere. A good Customer Service. We have friendly staff on hand to answer questions, help to find specific items,and offer styling advice. Spacious fitting rooms to try on clothes with ease. And more importantly the price point. We sell garments for an affordable and reasonable price. We have a certain allocated discount corner which is available for 365 days.

Q WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS FOR JANE RABEL AND FASHION HUT? We already have discussed with certain international fashion chains to display the Jane Rabel brand globally. And we are planning to expand the business to the main big cities in the island.

Pix courtesy Jane Rabel