When arthritis took away a lot of her mobility in 2019, Soumita Basu discovered herself scuffling with the only of duties. Getting dressed, one thing she had all the time executed with out thought, now left her drained.

Her mom, Amita, was her solely assist. She remembers how even primary routines grew to become a battle. “Taking a shower or simply transferring round was troublesome,” she says. “And he or she didn’t even have correct garments to put on to the hospital. She couldn’t go in every single place in her nightdress, so even the fundamentals grew to become a battle.”

For Soumita, the ache was matched by a deeper frustration. Vogue had no place for somebody like her. That was the second she determined it needed to change.

Making clothes work for each physique

For somebody with restricted mobility, one thing so simple as buttoning a shirt or pulling up trousers can really feel like climbing a mountain. Conventional clothes, made with a slender concept of who the wearer is, usually leaves out individuals residing with arthritis, spinal accidents, power ache, or age-related stiffness.

“Adaptive clothes isn’t about giving individuals one thing ‘further’,” Soumita explains. “It’s about giving them what the remainder of us have already got — the liberty to decorate with ease and really feel assured in their very own pores and skin.”

At Zyenika, clothes include magnetic closures, Velcro fastenings, hid openings, and no-bend trousers. These might seem to be small particulars, however to somebody with restricted finger motion or again ache, they will imply the distinction between asking for assist and having the ability to costume independently.

Amita remembers the early days of experimenting with designs. “No model was good. We saved attempting till we ourselves have been happy with the ending. Slowly, after many makes an attempt, we arrived at designs that labored.”

The main focus was by no means solely on operate. Every bit was meant to really feel fashionable and dignified — clothes that anybody would need to put on, regardless of their age or skill. “Even if you’re at residence, you continue to costume for your self,” says Soumita. “You look within the mirror first, earlier than anybody else sees you. That second ought to all the time make you are feeling good.”

A sketchbook and a brand new starting 

The concept for Zyenika took form throughout Soumita’s most troublesome days. When arthritis lowered her mobility to a fraction of what it as soon as was, even dressing grew to become painful. Amita usually stood by, attempting to ease a battle that ought to by no means have existed within the first place.

As an alternative of accepting this as their actuality, mom and daughter started sketching alternate options collectively. With simply Rs 21,000 in hand, they approached native tailors, examined prototypes, and learnt by errors. Every failed try revealed new flaws but additionally sparked new potentialities.

“What started as a private resolution rapidly resonated with many others,” Soumita remembers. “As soon as I began speaking about it, I realised how many individuals — aged mother and father, recovering sufferers, younger individuals with invisible disabilities — confronted the identical struggles. And there was merely nothing in mainstream vogue for them.”

For Amita, this was the turning level. “We knew it couldn’t solely be about us,” she says. “We wished others with comparable issues to have clothes that labored, so nobody would really feel excluded.”

By 2020, the label was launched formally, with Amita standing firmly by her daughter’s aspect — not solely as a caregiver, however as a co-founder.

There’s a village behind each sew

Operating a vogue start-up is rarely easy. Constructing one in an area nobody has examined earlier than is even more durable. But Zyenika grew, fuelled by phrase of mouth and constant prospects who saved coming again.

The primary steps have been modest. A seed grant of Rs 5 lakh got here from the Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Community (GIAN) in Gujarat, adopted by assist from the Jubilant Bhartia Basis. Alongside the way in which, mentors stepped in and have become a part of their prolonged household. Catalyst Group founder Shiv Kumar inspired Soumita to stability her full-time job with entrepreneurship, Aspire For Her founder Madhura Dasgupta opened doorways to invaluable networks, and Vivek Pradeep Rana, Managing Associate at Gnothi Seauton, guided her on constructing stronger programs.

“Folks speak about being self-made,” Soumita says. “I’m the other. This model was constructed by a village — my household, my prospects, my mentors, and each single one that believed that clothes may very well be extra inclusive.”

The manufacturing course of displays this perception. The workforce works with single moms, women-led tailoring items, and manufacturing teams that make use of individuals with disabilities. For Soumita, this isn’t charity however collaboration. “I’m not empowering them. They’re empowering me by producing clothes of the very best high quality,” she says.

What empowerment seems to be like in clothes

For Soumita, empowerment in vogue comes from two locations: the method of carrying the garment, and the expertise of residing in it. If both is compromised, the clothes fails its goal.

She explains it merely. “Think about a young person attempting on garments in a retailer, solely to search out nothing suits her physique kind. Even when another person says she seems to be effective, she has already felt rejected by the mirror. That rejection chips away at confidence.”

Zyenika’s designs goal to stop that feeling. A kurta with Velcro fastenings seems to be like another, but it permits somebody with arthritis to decorate with out assist. A pair of trousers with aspect zips spares an aged individual the ache of bending. A shirt with magnetic closures will be worn in seconds with out fumbling with buttons.

For a lot of prospects, these adjustments are life-altering. “One girl instructed me she lastly felt like herself once more when she wore our kurta,” Soumita remembers.

Amita remembers one other second vividly. A seven-year-old disabled little one was near leaving college as a result of he couldn’t handle the washroom alone. “We designed customised trousers for him that made it simpler to go urine,” she says. “His mom later wrote to us saying he was so blissful, and now he even visits museums and zoos.”

Tales like these are what make each mom and daughter proudest — proof {that a} garment can do greater than dress the physique. It may well restore confidence, dignity, and independence.

Normalising consolation for all our bodies

As Zyenika grew, Soumita seen one thing putting. The clothes was not solely serving to individuals with disabilities. Joggers who disliked fiddly buttons, professionals with again ache, and younger moms pressed for time additionally discovered the designs helpful.

This perception led to the launch of a sister model targeted on inclusive vogue. In contrast to adaptive clothes designed primarily for practical challenges, this line introduced easy-to-wear, semi-formal Indian and Western put on into on a regular basis wardrobes.

“Inclusivity means everybody,” Soumita says firmly. “If an individual with out incapacity prefers magnetic fastenings as a result of they’re faster, that’s legitimate too. We’re normalising consolation and dignity for all our bodies.”

Talks with main retailers like Westside at the moment are underway. Whereas bigger corporations transfer slowly, Soumita sees this as an indication that the style business is starting to recognise the significance of inclusive design.

When suggestions shapes each garment

One in all Zyenika’s largest strengths is the way in which it entails prospects within the course of. They aren’t simply patrons however co-creators. Many counsel tweaks, share their experiences, and even analysis variations on-line.

Soumita remembers a current instance. “A shopper wanted a customized garment we had stopped producing. As an alternative of strolling away, she stated, ‘Let’s experiment collectively.’ She even despatched me concepts she discovered on-line. That’s the type of religion that builds us.”

This suggestions loop retains designs rooted in lived actuality reasonably than assumptions. It additionally builds a way of neighborhood, the place prospects really feel real possession of the model’s development.

The challenges of constructing an empire

Regardless of its rising recognition, the journey has not been with out hurdles. In 2022, a interval of sickness left Soumita unable to work for months, and the model’s turnover dipped. But loyal prospects continued to return, retaining the enterprise afloat.

At this time, Zyenika runs with a small hybrid workforce of 4 core members, supported by distant collaborators in advertising and marketing, design, and social media. AI-generated visuals complement skilled shoots, serving to the workforce keep inventive whereas conserving sources.

Financially, the enterprise continues to be modest, with turnover within the “few lakhs” bracket. The ambition, nevertheless, is daring: to develop from Rs 21,000 to Rs 1.3 crore in annual income throughout the subsequent monetary 12 months. Seed funding rounds are ongoing, with pals, household, and well-wishers putting their belief within the imaginative and prescient.

“Each rupee issues, however greater than that, each connection issues,” Soumita says. “Mentors, collaborators, and prospects have invested not simply cash however belief and information. That’s the actual capital of Zyenika.”

Even the identify displays this spirit of perseverance. Derived from the phrase Seneca, which means a feminine hawk, it symbolises magnificence and resilience. “Feminine hawks are swish but relentless,” Soumita explains. “That’s what I wished Zyenika to be. Each garment ought to look elegant, even whether it is designed for mattress relaxation. And as a model, we’ll maintain persevering, leaving nobody behind.”

Taking inclusive vogue mainstream

From its modest beginnings with Rs 21,000, Zyenika has grown right into a beacon of inclusive vogue. The subsequent chapter is about scaling manufacturing, partnering with bigger retailers, and increasing the sister model into mainstream markets.

For Soumita, although, the mission stays regular. It isn’t centred on revenue margins or market share. It’s about reshaping the hyperlink between clothes and confidence.

“Vogue has all the time been a gatekeeper,” she says. “In case your physique didn’t match the mould, you have been made to really feel insufficient. Zyenika is about flipping that narrative. The garments should match the physique, not the opposite means spherical.”

The numerous arms behind the work

At its coronary heart, Zyenika is greater than a enterprise. It’s a collective dream held collectively by household, mentors, prospects, and the workforce. Soumita’s father usually steps in as a courier when deliveries are delayed. Her sister manages monetary stability so she will deal with design. Single moms sew clothes with care. Prospects counsel variations with enthusiasm.

“Zyenika isn’t mine alone,” Soumita says. “It belongs to everybody who has touched it with religion, endurance, or talent.”

Amita shares that satisfaction deeply. “Nearly each achievement makes me emotional,” she says. “What fulfils me most is seeing the way in which prospects reply to the garments. I really feel proud understanding individuals the world over now recognise what we’re doing.”

In a rustic the place over 16% of the inhabitants lives with incapacity and almost 30% struggles with power ache, their work isn’t area of interest however essential. By making inclusive vogue seen, this mom–daughter duo is steadily shifting a complete business in the direction of empathy and dignity.

Vogue, at its finest, is a language of selfhood. For too lengthy, that language has excluded these whose our bodies transfer otherwise. By Zyenika, Soumita, and Amita are displaying a robust fact: empowerment doesn’t come from becoming into garments. It comes from garments that suit you.

“Each physique issues,” Soumita repeats. And of their world, each sew proves it true.

Edited by Khushi Arora; all pictures courtesy Soumita Basu