For most, what takes one to the heights of being a successful business leader, is ambition. For Mr Deep Khatri, it is passion. He never really started a business, that too a profit-making one! Rather, he started bringing a lot of fabrics and creating articles out of them just for the sake of his passion.
Later, he realized that it could be a great venture for him to sail in and reach a pinnacle. As he recounts, “I was always very unhappy with the already available clothing and accessories that were available in the market. My initial buyers were my friends and people who already knew me.”
So, Deep Khatri decided to create his line of designs that brings people towards a greater cause of Karigar employment and skill development. His initial challenges were finding excellent fabric weavers and master craftsmen for the sake of the cause. Through market research and references, Mr Khatri finally created a strong team of weavers and craftsmen who resonated with his goals and were ready to put their rare skills to use.
And thus, Khatri Designers was born – a truly unique luxury fashion brand.
Deep Khatri has been building two companies, Khatri Designers and Rudrishi Interiors, since 2017. The luxury fashion brand Khatri Designers is into designing heirloom quality personalized luxury clothing and accessories for both men and women. Mr Khatri works closely with Indian handlooms and vintage embroidery to create and re-create heritage designs and handcrafted ensembles. As his team always aims to put the Indian handicraft and handlooms onto the global luxury map, they want this dream to come true in the shortest time possible.
Apart from this, our Interior Design and Consulting Company – Rudrishi Interiors, is successfully catering to customers’ requirements of designing grandeur residential and commercial spaces. Again, the aesthetics of heritage and vintage glory remain constant in all the projects that Deep Khatri’s team take up. They love to incorporate hand nakshi and crafted marbles and stones for most of our sites.
The Man Behind the Brand
Deep Khatri is an Indian luxury entrepreneur who is motivated by India – one of the oldest civilizations in the world with a kaleidoscopic variety and rich cultural heritage. Hailing from the ancient Kshatriya lineage of Maharaj Shri Sahastrarjuna (The Moon Dynasty), he remains true to his passion and fondness for Indian heritage, royal costuming, and luxury crafts. He feels inclined towards monumental restoration, understanding vintage architecture, and cultural conservation.
He has successfully designed outfits and curated looks for a few big fat weddings, which brought him another level of exposure and taught him the art of time management and delivering things under acute time crisis. He also works as a Freelance Fashion Stylist for individuals, professionals, and corporate members to help them identify their personal style and develop their image.
Starting his career as a luxury design professional at the age of 17, he successfully placed himself uniquely amidst the fierce market. He remained firm to his goals and achieved remarkable acknowledgement in his subjects.
Acclaimed across his fields, he tries to remain unique by playing around his aesthetics of vintage glory, and royalty hence keeping rarity and timelessness alive.
Standing apart
Design and craft are such fields where your own creations set you apart from the rest of the fraternity. A designer is always known for their own sense of aesthetics and way of looking at the design technicalities for his creations. So, as such, no two unique designers remain comparable in terms of design aesthetics.
For Deep, no two customers are the same, so neither will their style be. We provide a unique design to each client, and it does not get repeated for others. Coming to the cost, Deep’s team over at Khatri Designers focus on promoting sustainable fashion that is created with hands, provides employability to many Karigars, helps preserve the vanishing crafts, and keeps the heritage alive. Such timeless ensembles could be created only by promoting handwoven fabrics and antique embroidery techniques.
When asked about what or who motivates/inspires him to be a business leader, Deep Khatri replied: “As, I have always mentioned about it, that an individual is his own motivator. The only question, ‘What should I do today that makes me better than yesterday and help me achieve my goals?’ keeps me going.”
“With times and greater exposure, we constantly have the pressure to improve and bring innovative designs to justify the acknowledgement and positions we have received in the industry. Apart from the self-motivation, the youth and their magnificent choices make us push our limits and design the best for them,” he added.
Riding the Digital Current
When we talk about Mr Khatri’s business that is typically based on vintage and ancient craft, that involves manual labour and skilled craftsmanship, how can one imagine the role of technology in it? But, as Mr Khatri emphasises, there’s always a major part of technology and digitalization that comes into play. Due to globalization and easy access to the internet and social media, one can easily reach billions by presenting his creations and designs. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook, along with Twitter, has made the world turn into a small DOT which has helped us reach globally. Ease of connecting with the wider audience and people with variable nationality, language, religion, culture, and ethnicity is at the touch of fingers.
Moreover, the newly introduced and widely accepted NonFungible Tokens (NFTs) are the new kids in the technology market. One could very well imagine the scope of growth and potential opportunities in these AI-based recreations of the designs. Deep Khatri would look forward to creating NFTs of his designs for more and more people to appreciate and accept the Indian heritage through modern eyes.
The Pandemic Effect
The effect of the pandemic has been harsh on the fashion and interior design industry. Luxury is that segment of the fashion and interior design industry which grows at the slowest pace. Having a halt at a growing stage for a brand gave Mr Khatri’s businesses a major shock. For almost a year, they had to shut their business prospects and lost a lot of business.
“Apart from that, our craftsmen who depend on daily wages were badly affected due to no works and ongoing expenses,” said Mr Khatri while elaborating on the tribulations his team had to face during the COVID-19 pandemic. “With god’s grace, we were able to get through the difficult situations and arise with a positive mindset and greater motivation to work again. But we must agree that corona time made us relook at our working methodologies and innovate to tackle these kinds of situations in the future. Appropriate changes have been made. We now focus more on quality over quantity,” he added.
Advice for Aspirers
When asked about what advice he would like to give to the budding entrepreneurs venturing into the business world, Mr Khatri replied, “When you decide to be an entrepreneur, you must strengthen your guts to face every hardship that comes along your way to locate yourself on ‘the business map’. Love what you do and never compromise on the uniqueness of individuality.”
“Don’t get moved by the changing trends and seasonal fall. For budding entrepreneurs, the lesson is: don’t lose touch with the passion that is driving you because you will need to use it as your rock when it’s time to fight the challenges and altitudes of entrepreneurship. A self-motivated entrepreneur is an individual who can keep his feet grounded in days of success and owns up to failure and grows back with the same enthusiasm without getting demotivated,” he added.
Scaling the Future
Deep Khatri as an individual, envisions himself as an everdetermined Revivalist and Conservationist. He pledges to continually grow and progress in the areas of fashion, interior, architecture, and jewellery, promoting craft, individuality among people and creating sustainable designs.
Khatri Designers has been moving ahead progressively in establishing itself as an eminent Luxury Couture Brand on the global luxury map. The company wants to bring the exclusive craftsmanship and Indian heritage to a platform where it is appreciated and loved to possess by one and all.
At the same time, Rudrishi Interiors aspires to always create unique and lively spaces for all those individuals who want to progress along with their heritage and ancestry.
“We also look forward to doing many Fashion Weeks and Couture Shows in near future,” concluded the ingenious Mr Deep Khatri.
