Launched in April 2022, the company has received great feedback from customers for its products
Bengaluru: Looking for vibrant, playful and comfortable clothing to wear on your next vacation? Sioli Resort Wear is Alysha Vazirally’s passion project. The brand, which was launched in April 2022, is all about ‘relaxed’ clothing that looks good and makes you feel good. On offer are clothes that are easy to slip on and ideal as a cover-up for the beach, for lounging at the poolside or as part of a dress code for that casual party.
Inspiration matters
The Covid-19 pandemic allowed Alysha Vazirally to spend two years in Goa. “I saw that Goa has blossomed into a thriving, cultural amalgamation of artists, foodies and hipsters, living a vibrant but laidback life with the locals. People there focus on creating small niche businesses, do it with a lot of passion and put their whole heart into it—whether it is making vegan breakfast smoothies or creating upcycled unique jackets,” shares Vazirally. Her experiences in Goa and the growing beach culture there inspired her to create her brand ‘Sioli Resort Wear’. The brand embodies the free spirit and lifestyle of Goa. “Our clothes are fuss-free and very easy to style, which I think is important for a beach wardrobe,” says Vazirally.
Brand essence
At Sioli Resort Wear, the clothing is designed keeping in mind the brand’s aesthetic, which is ‘to be easy to wear and effortless while embodying the free spirit of living in a bohemian beach town’. “Our aesthetic is consistent in everything we create. So, we have created our own prints to make sure we stand out from the other brands in the market. Again, to stay true to our aesthetic, we try to experiment with fabrics in different ways. For example, we have come out with a tie-dye effect on our lace which is not commonly found in the market,” explains Vazirally. One of the brand’s goals, she continues, is to help steer people away from thinking of kaftans as long and shapeless. “So, we offer a wide range of kaftans in lace, crochet, tie-dye cotton and textured neon fabrics—all with different cuts and lengths,” adds Vazirally.
Today, fashion is a very saturated market and it is difficult for any brand to get noticed in the beginning. It was no different for Sioli Resort Wear. “You are competing with so many different brands—both local and international— and there are constantly new ones getting launched all the time,” explains Vazirally. Even though Sioli Resort Wear is a new brand (it was launched in April this year), it has been constantly trying to adapt to customers’ needs and wants. “To get your brand’s name out there is always challenging. But we decided to adopt an organic growth strategy so that we could adapt our products to customers’ needs and grow sustainably. Within a few weeks of launching, we discovered that a lot of people prefer buying free-size clothing, which is easy to slip into, for the beach. So, we quickly launched a capsule line that fits all,” conveys Vazirally.
Making progress
At Sioli Resort Wear, consistency is the key to everything the team does, from content to product to customer engagement. Vazirally is of the view that in time this will help make the brand a strong player that stands out in the market. What is already helping the brand evolve and adapt faster is interacting with customers. “Initially, we thought we would focus all our marketing on Instagram but we quickly realised the value of doing pop-ups in different cities. Also, as a small brand, order fulfillment is something we do in-house at the moment which allows us to add a personal touch and ensure smooth and efficient deliveries,” shares Vazirally.
For Vazirally, Sioli Resort Wear is a passion project and she hopes that the brand can grow along with the market because she and her team love creating fun designs and adding colour to people’s vacation wardrobes. “Resort wear as a category is fast-growing and has greatly accelerated during the pandemic with many Indian travellers re discovering local beach destinations, ranging from Goa and Alibag (in Maharashtra) to Bekal (in Kerala) and the Andaman Islands. As these beach towns are gaining in popularity for quick weekend getaways, people are shopping for resort wear like never before. In fact, in the six months since our brand’s inception, we have had a great response,” concludes Vazirally.
Brownie Points
- Despite being a new and young brand, Sioli Resort Wear has partnered with Como Collective in Goa for all their stores because the brand is deeply inspired by the state. To be present in Goa, the very state that has inspired the brand’s story means a lot for founder Alysha Vazirally.
- To date, Sioli Resort Wear has received great feedback from customers for its products, and this is what drives the brand more than anything.
First appeared in The India D2C Yearbook 2022
