[Music]
so my one degree changed actually
happened with one tight slap you don’t I
thought I’ll start with a joke to
lighten the mood but I realize in fact
I’m not a very funny person at all I
have no funny bones so I’m gonna tell
you my story the way it is as is very
unimpressive I was born in a very small
city in the northeastern part of India
called Guwahati
I was born to a very conservative Marv
re-join family but luckily for me my
clearly remember that a salmon in those
days was very troubled and disturbed
because of terrorism and we were on the
list of the kidnappers for a ransom it
wasn’t a blessing always it’s not always
a blessing to be from an affluent family
I remember I was 13 years old and one
day while returning from school
I just come I just walked into the house
and my dad gave me one tight slap across
my face it angered me upset me and
frustrated me I did not deserve that
slap I was late but just five minutes
when I look back I understand that my
dad slapped me because he was worried he
was worried that maybe you know I was
kidnapped I understand that now but back
then I did not understand I insisted
that I was sent to a boarding school
because I did not want to live a life
like that I did not want to be
restricted just for five minutes I mean
hell no and luckily for me my dad did
agree to send me to a boarding school I
have a scent of the Missouri soon after
which is where life changed for me not
only that I had a great time I made
friends for life at a ball but I was
also recognized by my teachers as a
potential
art-student they encouraged me and gave
me every single opportunity that one
could have to pursue my art has to spend
a lot of my time painting in my art in
my art classes at the age of 17 had my
first painting exhibition I received a
lot of appreciation for the same I was
in fact offered an unconditional offer
from the University of Arts London to
pursue a foundation year and in the 11
standing and having an unconditional
offer basically you don’t need to study
anymore right like you don’t need to
give your boards you have an offer you
have a place in a university but I did
finish my schooling in Missouri and like
I said I came from a very conservative
my very family background and nobody
from my city had ever been abroad no
marvadi girl had ever been abroad to
study but against all odds I was sent I
was very excited with the whole idea of
studying in London living in London
having all the freedom but that’s when I
got my second tight slap
London was anything but fun I missed
home and my friends my family miserable
I was miserable I was lonely
I didn’t want to be there I just wanted
to come back home anything that would
bring me back to India my family my
friends my foundation us recreate the
few months that I got for the first six
months that I spent there I got to
experiment with various forms of art I
got to learn poetry photography graphic
designing textile painting
I learnt various I got to got my hands
dirty on various forms of art in my head
I thought I’d be a graphic designer
it seemed the right profession to get in
at that point but to my disappointment
my mentors and my
teachers said there was nothing in my
work that indicated me of being a
graphic designer
they said I should be a textile designer
text her and have even thought of fabric
or clothing or textile or anything like
that after six months I had to make up
my make up portfolio to apply for my
undergrad programs and applied to a
senior university I decided if I had to
study textile and this is what I wanted
to do I would apply in only two
universities either I studied at the
best or not at all and come back home
applied at the Central Saint Martin’s
and Chelsea College of Art and Design
and luckily or unluckily I got through
both the Dean at the college then he
said Pallavi listen going to Central
Saint Martin’s is like having a cherry
on the cake you have it all you sort it
you’re done but going to Chelsea would
be walking on fire you would really need
to work hard but you would learn me
being me I have never taken an easy path
in my life I chose Chelsea over Sint
Maartens but there was another reason
why I choose Chelsea Chelsea had this
very exciting second year program where
only two students would get to be sent
to New York to study at the FI t I
thought being in London for two years if
I get six months at MIT come back to
London it might be just a great idea to
you know have another experience and a
fight is a great University so I worked
really hard I did get selected to go to
a fight in New York – my bad luck and an
unfortunate incident happened the 11th
of September happened I came back to
India to apply for my visa I got
rejected twice twice my US visa was
rejected and I had to be back home for
three months I didn’t want to sit at
home I
never been home honestly I did not know
how to live an idle life so I decided to
come to Delhi and do internship at this
export house called Magnolia this is
where I met sat hearth the love of my
life I fell instantly in love with him
it was like the best thing at that point
it was in the internship it was nothing
it was just all about Siddharth I spent
a lot of time with him the two months
that I interned in the company we
started dating but I had to go back to
Sid started travelling to London very
often on the pretext of doing business
meetings I didn’t mind that I mean which
girl or which person does not like
attention I loved every time Sid had
visited me I started tagging along with
him to all the business meetings that he
attended this is how I got introduced to
the fashion world I’ve always studied
textile to be a interior
I wanted to design textile for interiors
finished my graduation come back I came
back to India and a merits of that
everything was brilliant everything was
going on well everything was lovely
I started shadowing my mother-in-law was
an excellent entrepreneur a great mentor
a designer the best sales person I have
ever known
I started shadowing her and my
father-in-law became my best friend but
a very unfortunate incident happened
when I got my fourth tight slap I lost
my father-in-law within eight months of
my marriage
it was difficult times for all of us in
the family things changed at home and at
I found myself taking over my
mother-in-law’s responsibility of
designing marketing and selling I had
just I was just learning it was just
eight months but we all had to do what
we had to do right I took it up as a
challenge to do my best in the in this
whole in the eight months that I was
there I met this gentleman called Piero
who was a buying agent for us in Italy
there was something about him that
always attracted me he he had this
warmth he was like a father figure to me
I he well he didn’t speak a word of
English and I didn’t speak a word of
Italian but there was a connect I wanted
to grow our business in Italy just
because I connected with him as a human
being I started traveling to Italy
intensively trying to sell my designs
get new customers grow the company grow
the business from having worked with
just about four brands in Italy we
expanded in about two years working with
almost 35 to 40 brands we worked with
every single fashion label in Italy when
this happened my friends people around
me said pallavi you’re designing you’re
making the product you’re manufacturing
it but they put the label on it why
don’t you start your own fashion brand
why don’t you make design under your own
brand I said to that I said guys this
isn’t happening I’m not doing this I’m
not serious about this kind of I’m not
serious about launching myself in the
Indian market my friend said this is
exactly what you need to call your brand
not so serious and this was the birth of
not so serious this was 2007 I was just
25 then I was handling the marketing
design product development for Magnolia
and not so serious happened as well I
did not want to just do a
fashion be a fashion big designer right
from the beginning so for the first two
years I did small exhibitions across the
country took up stalls in you know
smaller exhibitions inexpensive
exhibitions just to understand how
people perceive fashion in India what
was the sensibility what was the mental
mentality what were people willing to
pay when I got the right confidence in
2009 I launched the label at the Wills
India Fashion Week where the critics I
was like well the critics said that I
was the most promising upcoming designer
I was excited it was good times for not
so serious and Magnolia but the
companies were growing steadily slowly
but they were growing this is when I got
my fifth type slap I realized as sucked
a time management I had my left feet in
two different boots
I had Magnolia and not so serious and
subsequently I realized that both the
companies were suffering because I
wasn’t giving them the time I was the
only one designer in the company doing
designing and marketing and selling for
both the brands it wasn’t practical I
had to let go I had to do I had to let
go of all the control that I had I
needed to delegate I needed to learn to
trust people I needed to build a team so
from being just one design in the
company now in Magnolia we have a team
of 15 designers and hundred and fifty
people in product development not so
serious has its own team of designers
and marketing and sales team I lead them
direct them and guide them but I don’t
try and do everything myself this is
what I did for the
longest longest time after I let go and
I started trusting in people the company
subsequently grew magnolias from having
its footings just in about just in
Europe now we have footings in UK US
Japan we have a team about 2,000 people
working in a company we have also gone
ahead and built and started building
actually a green factory eco-friendly
factory which will be one of its kind in
in India we we are gonna not will not be
it’s going to be zero discharge waste
factory we’ve gotta give back to the
grid we’re going to produce our own
electricity there’s going to be no water
wastage it’s a green factory one of its
kind in the country while lots of
serious has his footings in about 100
boutiques across the world in all of
Middle East India US UK and very
recently I opened my first flagship
store in Delhi
but this only happened because I let go
and I had to trust people to sum it all
up I would say my first slap changed my
environment my second slap taught me to
accept a new environment
my thoughts lap made me accept rejection
my fourth slap made me handle the in
parable loss my fifth slap made me
realize the limitation of my own mindset
now I’m just waiting for my six tight
slap to learn more and change more thank
you very much [Applause]
so my one degree changed actually
happened with one tight slap you don’t I
thought I’ll start with a joke to
lighten the mood but I realize in fact
I’m not a very funny person at all I
have no funny bones so I’m gonna tell
you my story the way it is as is very
unimpressive I was born in a very small
city in the northeastern part of India
called Guwahati
I was born to a very conservative Marv
re-join family but luckily for me my
clearly remember that a salmon in those
days was very troubled and disturbed
because of terrorism and we were on the
list of the kidnappers for a ransom it
wasn’t a blessing always it’s not always
a blessing to be from an affluent family
I remember I was 13 years old and one
day while returning from school
I just come I just walked into the house
and my dad gave me one tight slap across
my face it angered me upset me and
frustrated me I did not deserve that
slap I was late but just five minutes
when I look back I understand that my
dad slapped me because he was worried he
was worried that maybe you know I was
kidnapped I understand that now but back
then I did not understand I insisted
that I was sent to a boarding school
because I did not want to live a life
like that I did not want to be
restricted just for five minutes I mean
hell no and luckily for me my dad did
agree to send me to a boarding school I
have a scent of the Missouri soon after
which is where life changed for me not
only that I had a great time I made
friends for life at a ball but I was
also recognized by my teachers as a
potential
art-student they encouraged me and gave
me every single opportunity that one
could have to pursue my art has to spend
a lot of my time painting in my art in
my art classes at the age of 17 had my
first painting exhibition I received a
lot of appreciation for the same I was
in fact offered an unconditional offer
from the University of Arts London to
pursue a foundation year and in the 11
standing and having an unconditional
offer basically you don’t need to study
anymore right like you don’t need to
give your boards you have an offer you
have a place in a university but I did
finish my schooling in Missouri and like
I said I came from a very conservative
my very family background and nobody
from my city had ever been abroad no
marvadi girl had ever been abroad to
study but against all odds I was sent I
was very excited with the whole idea of
studying in London living in London
having all the freedom but that’s when I
got my second tight slap
London was anything but fun I missed
home and my friends my family miserable
I was miserable I was lonely
I didn’t want to be there I just wanted
to come back home anything that would
bring me back to India my family my
friends my foundation us recreate the
few months that I got for the first six
months that I spent there I got to
experiment with various forms of art I
got to learn poetry photography graphic
designing textile painting
I learnt various I got to got my hands
dirty on various forms of art in my head
I thought I’d be a graphic designer
it seemed the right profession to get in
at that point but to my disappointment
my mentors and my
teachers said there was nothing in my
work that indicated me of being a
graphic designer
they said I should be a textile designer
text her and have even thought of fabric
or clothing or textile or anything like
that after six months I had to make up
my make up portfolio to apply for my
undergrad programs and applied to a
senior university I decided if I had to
study textile and this is what I wanted
to do I would apply in only two
universities either I studied at the
best or not at all and come back home
applied at the Central Saint Martin’s
and Chelsea College of Art and Design
and luckily or unluckily I got through
both the Dean at the college then he
said Pallavi listen going to Central
Saint Martin’s is like having a cherry
on the cake you have it all you sort it
you’re done but going to Chelsea would
be walking on fire you would really need
to work hard but you would learn me
being me I have never taken an easy path
in my life I chose Chelsea over Sint
Maartens but there was another reason
why I choose Chelsea Chelsea had this
very exciting second year program where
only two students would get to be sent
to New York to study at the FI t I
thought being in London for two years if
I get six months at MIT come back to
London it might be just a great idea to
you know have another experience and a
fight is a great University so I worked
really hard I did get selected to go to
a fight in New York – my bad luck and an
unfortunate incident happened the 11th
of September happened I came back to
India to apply for my visa I got
rejected twice twice my US visa was
rejected and I had to be back home for
three months I didn’t want to sit at
home I
never been home honestly I did not know
how to live an idle life so I decided to
come to Delhi and do internship at this
export house called Magnolia this is
where I met sat hearth the love of my
life I fell instantly in love with him
it was like the best thing at that point
it was in the internship it was nothing
it was just all about Siddharth I spent
a lot of time with him the two months
that I interned in the company we
started dating but I had to go back to
Sid started travelling to London very
often on the pretext of doing business
meetings I didn’t mind that I mean which
girl or which person does not like
attention I loved every time Sid had
visited me I started tagging along with
him to all the business meetings that he
attended this is how I got introduced to
the fashion world I’ve always studied
textile to be a interior
I wanted to design textile for interiors
finished my graduation come back I came
back to India and a merits of that
everything was brilliant everything was
going on well everything was lovely
I started shadowing my mother-in-law was
an excellent entrepreneur a great mentor
a designer the best sales person I have
ever known
I started shadowing her and my
father-in-law became my best friend but
a very unfortunate incident happened
when I got my fourth tight slap I lost
my father-in-law within eight months of
my marriage
it was difficult times for all of us in
the family things changed at home and at
I found myself taking over my
mother-in-law’s responsibility of
designing marketing and selling I had
just I was just learning it was just
eight months but we all had to do what
we had to do right I took it up as a
challenge to do my best in the in this
whole in the eight months that I was
there I met this gentleman called Piero
who was a buying agent for us in Italy
there was something about him that
always attracted me he he had this
warmth he was like a father figure to me
I he well he didn’t speak a word of
English and I didn’t speak a word of
Italian but there was a connect I wanted
to grow our business in Italy just
because I connected with him as a human
being I started traveling to Italy
intensively trying to sell my designs
get new customers grow the company grow
the business from having worked with
just about four brands in Italy we
expanded in about two years working with
almost 35 to 40 brands we worked with
every single fashion label in Italy when
this happened my friends people around
me said pallavi you’re designing you’re
making the product you’re manufacturing
it but they put the label on it why
don’t you start your own fashion brand
why don’t you make design under your own
brand I said to that I said guys this
isn’t happening I’m not doing this I’m
not serious about this kind of I’m not
serious about launching myself in the
Indian market my friend said this is
exactly what you need to call your brand
not so serious and this was the birth of
not so serious this was 2007 I was just
25 then I was handling the marketing
design product development for Magnolia
and not so serious happened as well I
did not want to just do a
fashion be a fashion big designer right
from the beginning so for the first two
years I did small exhibitions across the
country took up stalls in you know
smaller exhibitions inexpensive
exhibitions just to understand how
people perceive fashion in India what
was the sensibility what was the mental
mentality what were people willing to
pay when I got the right confidence in
2009 I launched the label at the Wills
India Fashion Week where the critics I
was like well the critics said that I
was the most promising upcoming designer
I was excited it was good times for not
so serious and Magnolia but the
companies were growing steadily slowly
but they were growing this is when I got
my fifth type slap I realized as sucked
a time management I had my left feet in
two different boots
I had Magnolia and not so serious and
subsequently I realized that both the
companies were suffering because I
wasn’t giving them the time I was the
only one designer in the company doing
designing and marketing and selling for
both the brands it wasn’t practical I
had to let go I had to do I had to let
go of all the control that I had I
needed to delegate I needed to learn to
trust people I needed to build a team so
from being just one design in the
company now in Magnolia we have a team
of 15 designers and hundred and fifty
people in product development not so
serious has its own team of designers
and marketing and sales team I lead them
direct them and guide them but I don’t
try and do everything myself this is
what I did for the
longest longest time after I let go and
I started trusting in people the company
subsequently grew magnolias from having
its footings just in about just in
Europe now we have footings in UK US
Japan we have a team about 2,000 people
working in a company we have also gone
ahead and built and started building
actually a green factory eco-friendly
factory which will be one of its kind in
in India we we are gonna not will not be
it’s going to be zero discharge waste
factory we’ve gotta give back to the
grid we’re going to produce our own
electricity there’s going to be no water
wastage it’s a green factory one of its
kind in the country while lots of
serious has his footings in about 100
boutiques across the world in all of
Middle East India US UK and very
recently I opened my first flagship
store in Delhi
but this only happened because I let go
and I had to trust people to sum it all
up I would say my first slap changed my
environment my second slap taught me to
accept a new environment
my thoughts lap made me accept rejection
my fourth slap made me handle the in
parable loss my fifth slap made me
realize the limitation of my own mindset
now I’m just waiting for my six tight
slap to learn more and change more thank
you very much [Applause]
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