Like daughter, like mother

It's always a great idea to expect magic to unleash itself and make all our dreams come true. But, more often than not, the reality doesn't work that way — doors don't creak open, and a genie doesn't really squeeze through to realise our wishes. Young entrepreneur Sayesha Sachdev learned this truth early on and decided to chase her entrepreneurial pursuits with none other than her mother.  

While it's easy to attribute her impressionable biz-whizz skills to her business background, the 23-year-old is quick to assert that her recent venture is the results of toil, turmoil, and immense self-belief. Thinking along the lines of 'Less Is More', the mother-daughter duo birthed CORE, a newly launching clothing brand that brings to life luxurious everyday wear, using nothing but the best fabrics sourced from across India. The sustainable venture uses innovative textiles (from fibre to fashion). “For this season, we've concentrated on Aloe Vera fibre known for its many uses. It nourishes human skin, is anti-bacterial, absorbs sweat and helps combat body odor," begins Sayesha.

“Banking on my passion for slow fashion and innovative textile, mum's expertise in the industry and the tremendous knowledge we have gained over the years, we decided to try a fresh approach. We weren't so much skeptical of people buying the idea, I think we were far more excited to really execute something different — to be able to break common stereotypes attached to slow fashion,” says Sayesha.

The young Bengalurean started her journey in fashion long before studying Fashion Communication and Promotion, specialising in Art Direction from CSM London, she first launched her experimental capsule collection SCHIER. Speaking of her current venture, for which she has collaborated with her mother Jyoti Sachdev Iyer, Sayesha adds she was really hopeful about people taking to her slow fashion venture. “Yes, it's important to study your market, which we've been doing for a while as I've released two sustainable lines prior to this and the response has been overwhelming, but it's also important to do what you do with honesty and love, which I've learned from my mother.”  

JSI as a brand has been associated with Evylyn Sharma's charitable organisation called Seams for Dreams.  An entrepreneur by profession and a mental health crusader, she adds, “I've always been a mental health activist. I think it's so important to give back to people in as many ways as you can.”  

While it has so far been so good for the designer duo, Sayesha asserts that working with her seasoned entrepreneurial mum has been a phenomenal learning experience. “We can switch from Laurel & Hardy to Tom & Jerry in less than a minute. Yes, we do constantly bicker as we have a difference of opinion on a lot of things but having a clear distinction between what is personal and what is professional is important and that's kept our relationship healthy. We value each other's opinions on certain parts of the business as she handles the back-end production and execution, like I said her expertise with textiles, techniques, the consumer mindset is incredible and I handle the creative direction of the brand. More than a mother-daughter duo, we're two best friends who just happen to love the world of fashion and that's what makes us the dream-team.” To which, her mum Jyoti adds, “We respect each other's ideas and treat each other as equals in the workspace and I'm so grateful that we've managed beautifully to create such a fun, exciting work environment for all of us.”

Giving us a peek into what lies ahead, Jyoti signs off by stating that they have a lot of their plate and it's all very good.”We're planning to constantly innovate with textiles as we're currently testing waters with fibers like Milk, Rose Petal, Eucalyptus etc... We don't want to restrict ourselves by the rules, we're hoping to start important conversations with our work, yet keep our clothing very minimalistic, easy to understand and easy to wear. Quality over quantity.  Expect exciting campaigns, designs, and textiles from us!”