Fashion designing is one of the most productive, engaging, and exciting career options in today’s world. Fashion comes with great talent and creativity. If you have a penchant for creativity, style and innovation, then this is the right path for your career
We caught up with the founder of Arora By Roma, to understand more about the brand through her own perspective; to purposely fish out a few tips to aspiring fashion entrepreneurs.
About Arora By Roma
The ready-to-wear fashion brand Arora By Roma was established in 2014 by Roma Azmat. Roma wants to give women a line of fashion and style that compliments their lifestyle like no other brand has ever done and to make sure that women truly embrace the essence of their style and lead the way.
Whether made consciously or not, clothing choices signal a great deal of information about each individual shopper. And Roma just knows and understands how each woman shops for clothes, where she looks for fashion inspiration, and what qualities are most important when buying a new garment.
By providing the latest ready-to-wear garments across Pakistan, Roma Azmat has become known among women of all ages. Arora by Roma was envisioned by a young girl, Roma Azmat, as a solution to the growing demand for fast fashion by the Pakistani woman. No wonder Roma just began with the western collection, but, over time, she expanded her business, and introduce a new product line i.e. eastern clothing. Today, her ready-to-wear womenswear brand provides fresh stock and designs she has put her heart and soul in.
How has the global pandemic and this crazy year impacted on your brand?
I found myself impregnable during the whole period. I stood strong and kept my eyes on the positivity and that how can I add more colors in a world that was being colorless at that time. I felt like having a strong connection with Allah SWT so I didn’t fall down. I rather found myself more focused on my work with a positive mind approach. Sales started getting better for me because people got more attracted to online retailing. I must say that online shopping might have been a relief to some and convenient for many. So global pandemic didn’t affect me at all.
What is Arora’s aesthetics? Do you specialize in Eastern? Or Western? Or both?
Well, I’d call myself a trendsetter. I don’t like couture and I don’t do couture. I have never studied eastern fashion, I rather fancy western fashion. I’ve got my degree from Italy, so basically, I’ve studied every tiny detail about western fashion e.g. western trends, colors, western cuts and prints. So, I’ve always envisioned western fashion. That’s my signature working style that I’ve brought the western side of fashion into eastern wear/ Ethnic wear. I create western prints and cuts and merge them into eastern wear.
While designing a collection what do you keep in mind? What do you focus on?
While designing a new collection I always keep trends and colors in my mind. Apart from that, I keep my target audience in my mind. I value my customers pretty much, so I always care about what my customer would want to wear, what excites their spirits, what can they afford easily and what style would they like to see in their wardrobe. I think likewise while creating my prints for every collection. I also try my best to keep a direct connection with my audience. I always prefer to get their feedback. So, all of these aspects help me while styling or designing a collection. This somehow brings me peace of mind that I’m delivering my people exactly what they expect me to.
What fashion advice would you give to young people who are figuring out their own personal style?
I would advise, be who you want to be rather than copying someone or listening to people’s opinion about how you need to dress up. This is the real dilemma of the society that youngsters are allowed to dress up in a manner the society wants them into. I believe if you would like to express yourself through the way you dress up, it would also give you confidence and of course the same advice will be followed for the young struggling designers. I’d suggest standing tall on the ground for what inspires them.
We’ve noticed you’ve also dealt into the market for kids’ fashion, what piqued your interest in that?
When I started off with ABR (Arora by Roma) right after my degree, I think I was very immature myself and it is the kid in me that I sometimes see in ABR. As a child, I was always fascinated by vibrant colors, glitters, shimmers and sparkles. So that has always piqued my interest in making kids’ collections. And soon after realizing that the Eastern world has always lacked to provide this all together to eastern kids so I thought to take initiative and blow my customers with something exciting, that’s when I launched ABR Junior
What is the unique selling point that differentiates you from other brands?
My unique selling point is that I’m the only designer in Pakistan who introduced mother and daughter twinning clothing. Apart from that I also launched 3D hand embellished digital printed off-beat ready-to-wear and unstitched attire for young women. Every single piece is handmade by myself with the assistance of my laborers. Every shirt is made with handwork of an average of 2-3 hours. I use my personal efforts in every single step of creating a collection. From creating a print to getting the shirt stitched and then the embellishment. I make sure to get the best out of my client. That’s my way of pampering my customer. Besides, I’m also working in digitally printed wear which includes linen, lawn and kidswear.
What inspired you to start Arora by Roma?
I was a fashionista since I was a kid. I was very observant about how other girls of my age would dress up, I always watched very closely to the cuts, colors, and every tiny detail of their outfit. I believe that’s what has always been pushing me to what I happen to become today. I can still remember that I was in grade 5 when I designed my very first outfit. Later I designed a wedding dress for one of my cousins which became really famous after that. I figured everyone copied it afterward so I would consider that my specific moment which leads me into this direction later in life. I’d rather say I didn’t choose fashion; Fashion chose me.
What other experiences do you have other than online retailing?
I did costume designing for a lot of premiers, which includes international movie premiers and Pakistani movie premiers. Apart from that, I’m currently doing social media marketing for my dad’s university. I’m also a board of trustees for my dad’s university.
What do you do at leisure time?
I fancy outdoor sports. I love to workout because my physical health is as important to me as my mental health. My biggest priority is to spend quality time with my family in my leisure time. Besides, I adore my dogs and I love being around them.
![From Music to Perfume: How did your background as a music teacher influence your transition into perfumery, and how do you incorporate your musical sensibilities into creating fragrances? I’ve always thought in terms of metaphors, and music has many that can be related to perfumery! Beyond just thinking in terms of top, middle and base notes [soprano/alto/tenor in choir], I approach each fragrant idea as a composition. When documenting my ideas, song structures often come to mind. As the scent brief is visited, I meditate on what the fragrance should convey - do I want to create an accord or a “chord” of fragrance note combinations? Do I want an a capella soloist (a particular ingredient to stand out more than others?) Many of my thoughts regarding song composition transfers to my scent formulation process, with me treating each note as an intentional soliloquy at some point.
Brand Origin: What inspired you to start Pink MahogHany in 2005, and how has your vision for the brand evolved since its inception?
An avid lover of all things pleasantly scented (with slight modesty), looking back in retrospect, it’s no huge surprise that I’ve created an indie perfume house with just an idea to provide unique options for those who may be sensitive to unnecessary pungency. Initially, I just wanted to evaluate various blends to note their aroma profiles when “played” together…it wasn’t until I had friends and family asking if I knew of brands that catered to those who may be on the more olfactory sensitive side, that I really began to take my research more seriously. In the almost 20 years that Pink MahogHany has been in existence, our micro visions for the brand have evolved to larger territory. Where Pink MahogHany used to only be a personal brand, we are now also a bespoke formulation service provider to other indie brands seeking unique fragrance offerings for their products. These products range from (but are not limited to) perfumes, candles, body butters and lip balms. Ingredient Transparency: You emphasize transparency and the use of desirable ingredients in your products. How do you select your ingredients, and what challenges have you faced in maintaining this standard?
Being an indie brand often comes with a set of assumptions and misconceptions - one of them being more negative than positive as it relates to ingredients used. There is a lot of “fluff” in the industry with labeling falsification. Because fragrance formulas are a trade secret, not every molecular breakdown of a material has to be noted on the ingredient label (it would be incredibly long), but we at Pink MahogHany™️ adhere strongly to the IFRA [International Fragrance Regulatory Association] regulations that state for common and potential allergens to be listed on our ingredient label. We’ve taken this a step further to also include these ingredients listed on our website to promote further transparency, all while protecting our intellectual property. Unfortunately, we’ve had companies to unethically sell lesser expensive “dupes” of our artisan perfumes, so as a way to create a better authenticity stamp, we make it our duty to be honest about our claims. If our perfume says “Rose Bulgaria”, it is in fact just that and not a component of rose being passed off as the source material. Collaborations and Custom Scents: Can you share more about your work with private label clients? What excites you most about creating custom scent solutions for other indie brands? I could easily sum this up in one word and say “Funding.” True, there is money out there, but I’m always thinking outside the box. Having a program that has an “Each One Fund One” mentality doesn’t exist (that I’ve been made aware of). Bootstrapping can be quite the challenge, even when you’ve reached the 6-figure mark annually. Competition to be seen and set apart is extremely high, so having quality packaging and branding is a must. There are lots of factors to consider, though when desiring to make upgrades. If there were a unique, tier-geared funding operation available, it would help perfume brands offset packaging and bulk material costs in the beginning stages.
Industry Challenges: What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced as an independent fragrance house, and how have you overcome them to grow your brand? As the brand continues on the path of organic growth, I would like to expand our reach into schools, offering perfumery as an arts elective for middle and high school. I’d love to partner with botanists, farmers and horticulturists directly to grow and source raw materials for the students to work with in the creation of tinctures. My passion is getting back to nature as best as possible, as nature was my first “scent experience” as a child. We would also love to witness our fragrance creations being used to scent model homes, our focus diffuser blends being used in automobile dealerships as well as partner with Air Bnb and boutique hotels that specialize in highlighting minority, indie brands. Personal Journey: How has your personal experience, particularly as a divorced mother and someone who has experienced the loss of a child, shaped your approach to life and your work in perfumery?
Because I homeschool my twin sons, we are together a lot more than most, so one thing we all do is have moments of sharing where a neutral “floor” is laid to converse about anything. Though they are quite communicative by nature, I realize that sometimes I can be in work mode so much that it spills over into what should be our quality time. My sons see the authentic me and learn how to communicate through seeing authenticity. I’ve learned not to feel as if I have to be the epitome of perfection but allow them to see my imperfections vulnerably but with discernment. Having had two traumatic experiences pretty close together has taught me how to truly slow down and enjoy the simplicities of life - igniting a spiritual aspect that I’ve always carried but never fully explored…until Kenji’s sudden passing (2018.) Grief has a way of catapulting us into a quest for more meaningfulness in both life and business. After Kenji’s passing and my processing through the initial stages of grief, I was able to incorporate our spiritual bond into Pink MahogHany by way of essential oil diffuser blends for both focus and sleep and most recently aromatic perfume elixirs. It’s been quite the process channeling the void of his physical presence, but I also have peace knowing he can be honored in a great way through scent. I noticed once I began to be more open and receptive to spiritual signs, synchs and “winks”, more ideas began to flow. It’s been this way since his transition. Emotional Expression: Fragrance is often tied to memories and emotions. How does your personal life influence the fragrances you create, and do you have a particular scent that holds special meaning to you? My creative process is much more alchemic now, and I include Kenji by talking out loud to him, believe it or not. I’m a firm believer that when our loved ones transition from the physical plane, they are still present - just in another form. I choose to keep his memory alive by not pretending he never existed (even if for a brief period of time). I am working (slowly) on a book and accompanying fragrance, but I know it will require me to revisit some memories I’m not quite ready for, so until then, his big brothers will launch their debut fragrance, The Peaceful Tiger (they chose the name.) I’ve learned that even in what we consider “small things”, our transitioned loved ones want to be recognized and acknowledged. When the twins and I designed their fragrance label (with a designer out of the country that didn’t know anything about me personally), we had issues with the graphic - so much so that the designer asked if they could rework the design. When they sent the proof for approval, the Tiger was not only younger but sleeping, with an uncanny, angelic resemblance to baby Kenji! Becoming more aware and being more sensitive to my intention for launching a fragrance has definitely made room for more divine situations like these to occur. Healing Through Scent: In what ways has creating fragrances been a form of healing or expression for you, especially after the loss of your son, Kenji Mwamba? I know my sons may not necessarily want to be perfumers, but they definitely have an entrepreneurial heart. My desire is that whatever they decide to pursue (acting, script-writing, music or architecture), they know that anything is possible with the right amount of determination, grit, belief and immersion. One reason I chose to homeschool is so they could enjoy learning without restraint and have ample time to devote to their own separate passions and it still be fun. They know Pink MahogHany is theirs if they want it (many, many years from now - lol), and we are already discussing business structures for whatever they choose their role to be once I retire. Work-Life Balance: How do you find balance between your professional responsibilities and personal well-being, and what self-care practices do you prioritize? I’m not just a perfumer; I’m also a consumer, and self-care is huge for me. I often take salt baths to reset my energy and clear my mind after being around large groups of people or free a long day. I’m a habitual perfume sampler, and I have so many to choose from to wear as my “nightcap.” Even if just for 10-15 minutes, I cherish each moment I’m able to have some “me-time.” When time and co-parenting schedules permit, I’m definitely on a flight somewhere to indulge in some delicious food and mouth-watering mocktails!](https://www.womenontopp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/IMG_3812-1200x720.jpeg)
Join the discussion!