Prem Anand Stephen: Revolutionizing Indian Inheritance In the Modern Fashion World with Earth-Friendliness
Prem Anand Stephen
Founder & Managing Director
Prem Anand Stephen, the Founder and Managing Director of Tirang Retails is on a mission to change this perception by revolutionizing and refashioning the Indian handlooms to appeal to not only the whole country but even beyond the borders. Established in 2015, Tirang(Tricolors of the Indian flag) boasts proud admiration for Indian Heritage and believes sustainability means nothing less of fashion. Under the aegis of Prem, the company heartily embraces the handloom artisans of India and provides the world with a contemporary sense of Indian Inheritance.
Prem’s love for khadi & handlooms and desire to reinvent the industry stem from his love for the country and intense patriotism in his veins which amalgamates with more than three decades of experience in international fashion. Possessing a Diploma in Fashion Design focused on Fashion/Apparel Design from JD Institute of Fashion Technology, he is highly skilled in Trend Analysis, Management, and Business Development. Prem
recently accepted our request to engage him in an interview with CEO Insights, and he subsequently walked us through his journey and the latest endeavors with Tirang.
What inspired you to start this venture in this niche segment, and what drives you today?
Being a patriotic citizen by nature and my passion for the fashion industry inspired me to notice khadi not just as a natural fabric but also as the pride of our nation. Exploration of the emergence of khadi and the Swadeshi movements in India further stimulated my sense of connection to the khadi ecosystem and how the world lacked its essence. Additionally, witnessing how khadi has conventionally been projected in the forms of Kurtas, Pyjamas and Vests pushed me to take our tradition to the international market standards with a touch of contemporary essence to make it admirable for today’s fashionists. That’s how my journey started, and there were many improvisations and inspiration along the way we worked on day and night and I also got invested in the handlooms and the core arts of India with a strong sense of love for mother earth. This also led me to explore the natural fabrics made out of unimaginable resources of nature like milk, corn, lotus, eucalyptus, rose petals and many more.
We at Tirang intend to deliver high-end fashion with authenticity and world-class quality standards for which we go through lot of R&D and Trial & error methods day and night with the whole team to bring the perfection we desire to our Products. I am highly driven by the thought that the world deserves to get a taste of the earth-friendly fashion imbued with the pride of our nation that I got a chance to savor.
How would you define Tirang as an organization? What are the unique aspects of the company?
Tirang stands for multiple authentications and holds several social responsibilities and commitments. It starts with our Channel Partner being the Khadi & Village Industry Commission(KVIC) under MSME, India Handloom under the Ministry of Textiles for the Procurement of Khadi & Handloom Fabrics, and India Post as our logistics partner.
We procure the fabrics directly from the artisans who keep the Indian Art and Tradition alive inclusive of Tribes and other privileged communities across the 28 States and eight Union Territories of our nation. We highlight traditional hand block prints like Daboo and Kalamkari, Kunbi, Kullu Shawls and many more.
We use fabrics of nature like Rose Petals, Corn, Milk, Orange, Lotus, Eucalyptus, and Aloe Vera to give a niche fashion experience for our consumers. We are socially responsible to the core and are very keen on delivering love to our mother earth by moving towards ‘no chemicals or unnatural raw materials’. It includes our initiative of using Seed Papers for our hangtags, recycled/ wooden/coconut shell trims, ecofriendly packaging, and natural dyes for our designs, among others.
We work with the MSME factories for our production and hence have been able to support them through the pandemic crisis.
You have also initiated a concept called ‘Give in Need’. Could you tell us about it?
‘Give in Need’ is a concept through which we support the community to share the excess with the ones in need by which we are establishing Unity and Humanity in the world. Gift In Need is also a unique initiative to remove the sympathetic impacts of words like ‘Charity and Donation’ and equalize resources in our society. We send packaging material along with all the orders we receive. The customer can fill the pack with whatever is excess or not in use for them that is in good condition and use the given invoice sticker to send it back to us without any charges. We take the expenses of the particular type of package.
How has been your response to the challenges posed by the covid-affected market and the need for new strategies, especially regarding garment production and transportation?
We are geared up for the future of retail which is e-Commerce and we are on board with all the top e-Commerce platforms. In terms of fabric production, we now are a diversified family of around 60,000 weavers. Our artisans work from home and in the clusters, which haven’t been much affected by the covid situation. So our raw materials & production needs are met without any disturbance.
Though the economy’s monetary circulation has been affected, there is a sense of consciousness rising in our target market to adapt to a sustainable lifestyle that we find our strength. But we intend to deliver much more than sustainability, that is some thing we call 'Earth-Friend liness’.
What has been the experience of contributing to the handloom legacy and setting quality benchmarks in the industry over the last seven years?
Tirang stands for multiple authentications and holds several social responsibilities and commitments. It starts with our Channel Partner being the Khadi & Village Industry Commission(KVIC) under MSME, India Handloom under the Ministry of Textiles for the Procurement of Khadi & Handloom Fabrics, and India Post as our logistics partner.
We procure the fabrics directly from the artisans who keep the Indian Art and Tradition alive inclusive of Tribes and other privileged communities across the 28 States and eight Union Territories of our nation. We highlight traditional hand block prints like Daboo and Kalamkari, Kunbi, Kullu Shawls and many more.
We procure the fabrics directly from the artisans who keep the Indian Art and Tradition alive inclusive of Tribes and other privileged communities across the 28 States and eight Union Territories of our nation
We use fabrics of nature like Rose Petals, Corn, Milk, Orange, Lotus, Eucalyptus, and Aloe Vera to give a niche fashion experience for our consumers. We are socially responsible to the core and are very keen on delivering love to our mother earth by moving towards ‘no chemicals or unnatural raw materials’. It includes our initiative of using Seed Papers for our hangtags, recycled/ wooden/coconut shell trims, ecofriendly packaging, and natural dyes for our designs, among others.
We work with the MSME factories for our production and hence have been able to support them through the pandemic crisis.
You have also initiated a concept called ‘Give in Need’. Could you tell us about it?
‘Give in Need’ is a concept through which we support the community to share the excess with the ones in need by which we are establishing Unity and Humanity in the world. Gift In Need is also a unique initiative to remove the sympathetic impacts of words like ‘Charity and Donation’ and equalize resources in our society. We send packaging material along with all the orders we receive. The customer can fill the pack with whatever is excess or not in use for them that is in good condition and use the given invoice sticker to send it back to us without any charges. We take the expenses of the particular type of package.
How has been your response to the challenges posed by the covid-affected market and the need for new strategies, especially regarding garment production and transportation?
We are geared up for the future of retail which is e-Commerce and we are on board with all the top e-Commerce platforms. In terms of fabric production, we now are a diversified family of around 60,000 weavers. Our artisans work from home and in the clusters, which haven’t been much affected by the covid situation. So our raw materials & production needs are met without any disturbance.
Though the economy’s monetary circulation has been affected, there is a sense of consciousness rising in our target market to adapt to a sustainable lifestyle that we find our strength. But we intend to deliver much more than sustainability, that is some thing we call 'Earth-Friend liness’.
What has been the experience of contributing to the handloom legacy and setting quality benchmarks in the industry over the last seven years?
The past seven years have been an intense R&D period for Tirang where we spent a lot of time conceptualizing, developing, and perfecting the product that we wanted to deliver. We did a lot of experiments on the Khadi and handloom fabrics to communicate their essence and importance to this generation. Today we provide khadi and handloom in a much more unconventional way than others. From the silhouettes to the hand block prints, we are working on delivering everything unconventional.
After the R&D period, we started reaching out to the governing bodies and connecting only with the certified weavers of KVIC & India Handloom and yet encouraged the other weavers from the society to get registered and certified with KVIC and India Handloom. Tirang is a well-planned and researched initiative committed to the betterment of tomorrow.
Briefly explain one of the most challenging projects executed by you so far? What did you learn from it?
One difficulty in our journey was analyzing the weaver’s strengths and deliverables. Given that the handloom & khadi fabrics take more time to be woven, the duration was a challenge, and bringing the fabrics from all over India was a time consuming process that we went through. Handloom and khadi fabrics come with a default minuscule defect, but it is its beauty.
To make a stand against the people’s comfortable mindset embedded in fast fashion is a journey in progress. Still, the response to our revolutionary earth friendly fashion was a surprise to us, and it drives us today towards the future we envision.
Going forward, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate, and what opportunities do you foresee?
We have real hope for a better world where people start embracing ethical fashion and the beauty of Indian art and culture. We are on our move-in delivering these arts and culture in a contemporary style for today’s fashionists to admire.
We also see that the opportunities are more for our products in the international market and we are coming up with physical stores overseas and in international Airports.
What advice would you give to the budding entrepreneurs in this domain?
The Fashion Lines Thy Create be the Revolution and the World Shall Witness the Same'. My desire, motivation, and mentoring have always been and will be about taking a stand in the world unconventionally, exploring and keep working persistently till you own it. And remember 'The Visionary People Sees Beyond the Vision'.
Prem Anand Stephen, Founder & Managing Director, Tirang Retails
Prem Anand is a proud Indian designer who has mastered Indian & International markets over the past three decades with an enormous growth in his career. He is renowned for his niche class royalty taste in fashion industry. He has been revolutionizing Indian handloom art and making a difference in the global market, while being the trend setter and eye opener for the upcoming generation. Extensively treasuring the Indian handlooms in unconventional ways, Prem’s own brand stands as an authentication for earth friendly and handloom fashion.
Favorite Book:How to Close a Deal in Seven Seconds, Who Moved my Cheese, and The Monk Who Sold His Red Ferrari
Favorite Destination:Las Vegas
Favorite Cuisine:
Indian, Russian & Italian
Awards & Recognition:
•Nominated for India 500 Startup brand awards & India 500 Best Brand Award
•Won the India 500 Best Brand Award 2022
•Nominated for Indian Achievers Awards as the Best Entrepreneur
After the R&D period, we started reaching out to the governing bodies and connecting only with the certified weavers of KVIC & India Handloom and yet encouraged the other weavers from the society to get registered and certified with KVIC and India Handloom. Tirang is a well-planned and researched initiative committed to the betterment of tomorrow.
Briefly explain one of the most challenging projects executed by you so far? What did you learn from it?
One difficulty in our journey was analyzing the weaver’s strengths and deliverables. Given that the handloom & khadi fabrics take more time to be woven, the duration was a challenge, and bringing the fabrics from all over India was a time consuming process that we went through. Handloom and khadi fabrics come with a default minuscule defect, but it is its beauty.
To make a stand against the people’s comfortable mindset embedded in fast fashion is a journey in progress. Still, the response to our revolutionary earth friendly fashion was a surprise to us, and it drives us today towards the future we envision.
Going forward, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate, and what opportunities do you foresee?
We have real hope for a better world where people start embracing ethical fashion and the beauty of Indian art and culture. We are on our move-in delivering these arts and culture in a contemporary style for today’s fashionists to admire.
We also see that the opportunities are more for our products in the international market and we are coming up with physical stores overseas and in international Airports.
What advice would you give to the budding entrepreneurs in this domain?
The Fashion Lines Thy Create be the Revolution and the World Shall Witness the Same'. My desire, motivation, and mentoring have always been and will be about taking a stand in the world unconventionally, exploring and keep working persistently till you own it. And remember 'The Visionary People Sees Beyond the Vision'.
Prem Anand Stephen, Founder & Managing Director, Tirang Retails
Prem Anand is a proud Indian designer who has mastered Indian & International markets over the past three decades with an enormous growth in his career. He is renowned for his niche class royalty taste in fashion industry. He has been revolutionizing Indian handloom art and making a difference in the global market, while being the trend setter and eye opener for the upcoming generation. Extensively treasuring the Indian handlooms in unconventional ways, Prem’s own brand stands as an authentication for earth friendly and handloom fashion.
Favorite Book:How to Close a Deal in Seven Seconds, Who Moved my Cheese, and The Monk Who Sold His Red Ferrari
Favorite Destination:Las Vegas
Favorite Cuisine:
Indian, Russian & Italian
Awards & Recognition:
•Nominated for India 500 Startup brand awards & India 500 Best Brand Award
•Won the India 500 Best Brand Award 2022
•Nominated for Indian Achievers Awards as the Best Entrepreneur