(November 30, 2023) In the early days of her YouTube journey, Masoom Minawala faced skepticism from those around her as she embarked on her fashion channel while still in college. It was 2011, and the notion of making a livelihood through a YouTube channel, particularly one focused on fashion, was met with incredulity. Fast forward more than a decade and Minawala’s Instagram page has become a treasure trove for fashion enthusiasts across the globe. Her impeccable wardrobe is nothing short of envy-inducing, and her profound affection for Indian clothing, particularly saris, has the power to kindle adoration in the hearts of many.
Masoom Minawala at Cannes
The Belgium-based fashion influencer has one resolute mission: to propel Indian fashion onto the global stage. Her approach to fashion is the perfect blend of culture and style, embodying the marriage of tradition and contemporary elegance. At just 30, the fashion influencer-turned-entrepreneur has partnered with renowned brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Bvlgari, Estée Lauder, Samsung, BMW, and Airbnb. Not content with merely influencing the fashion world, Minawala has also ventured into the startup realm, making strategic investments in a portfolio that includes Front Row, One Impression, Bliss Club, and Stumbl.
In an exciting development, the fashion influencer has recently joined forces with Harshil Karia, her mentor of twelve years and co-founder of Schbang. “The whole idea behind Schbang MMaximize is to replicate for other influencers what I have created for myself,” the influencer recently said in an interview, “Creators and influencers face a lot of roadblocks when it comes to getting brand deals, sustainable income, and continuing to be relevant. When you’re relevant, the brand deals continue to come in. I have been able to set up a system where all of this runs extremely smoothly. So I wanted to step in and help with all the experience I’ve gathered over the years.”
From a tomboy to a diva
Born to Gujarati parents in Mumbai, Masoom’s teenage years were far from a fashionable affair. A complete tomboy who was the captain of the soccer team at Bombay Scottish School, dressing up was the last thing on her mind. But in high school, her perspective on fashion suddenly changed and she soon found herself making some chic sartorial choices. This was the beginning of the Global Indian‘s fashionable journey, but little did she know then she would end up creating a career that is influencing millions today.
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It was probably just destiny that took her to an internship with Brand Marketing India where she stumbled upon fashion blogging while doing a research project. Such was the impact that Masoom that was something she wanted to do, and soon started her own blog. Within months, her followers grew incessantly and she found herself getting more involved in the process. It was then that the influencer realised that she wanted to find her niche in fashion blogging: so she packed her bags for London to take up diploma courses there. Upon her return, Masoom started Style Fiesta, one of India’s first fashion e-commerce portals, with a little financial help from her father.
While she was steadily climbing the ladder of success in the pre-Instagram era, she encountered her fair share of challenges on her path to acceptance as a fashion blogger. As an early pioneer in the industry, she lacked the guidance of mentors to look up to, leaving her to navigate the complex world of fashion blogging largely on her own. However, the influencer learned at every step of her journey, and soon became a brand in herself. Speaking about her decade-long journey, the influencer shared, “I have been in the content creation industry for twelve years now, and one of the struggles with content creation businesses is that people are not able to build a consistent and sustainable business where revenue comes in month after month. I’ve been one of the creators who have been able to achieve that. When it comes to driving revenue, I’m one of the highest grossers in the whole industry, according to statistics. The industry and I have literally grown together, as I was one among the first 10 in the industry.”
Best foot forward
As the Instagram phenomenon reshaped the landscape of social media culture, Masoom found herself at the centre of welcoming opportunities and a strong following of 1.3 million. “While creating any content, I always follow four principles for my audience,” the influencer said, “Educate, help, inspire, and entertain. This has helped me build a great connection with my community for which I will be forever grateful.”
After working hard for about eight years, Masoom got an opportunity to take centre stage on the prestigious Cannes Film Festival red carpet in 2019 – making her the first Indian fashion influencer to achieve that feat. “I was filled with pride of being able to represent my country,” she said after walking the red carpet, “. I was proud to be wearing an Indian designer and representing my country’s unique fashion on such a massive global platform. And, my red carpet outfit echoed and reflected my mission of taking Indian fashion globally.” The same year she saw herself making her debut in the list of CNN’s 20 under 40 list. Eventually, Masoom became a regular at Milan Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, and New York Fashion Week, where she never misses a chance to flaunt that suit or sari and is truly making Indian fashion go global.
Leading with style
In the last few years, Minawala has become a true champion of home-grown brands and designers on the global platform with her initiative #SupportIndianDesigners which has generated 10,000+ conversations in India. In 2019, the influencer started a new venture Empowher which aims to empower homegrown women-led Indian brands and help them receive a global audience.
“Empowher as a project is to create content for women at work or women professionals or entrepreneurs in India. When I started my entrepreneurial journey years ago, I faced a lot of obstacles mainly because of my gender. And through my content from Empowher, I want to try and make the path easier for women out there because there are a lot of stereotypes when it comes to women working in our country, and it’s about time we make it right. Through my learnings and failures if I can make an impact or make someone’s journey easier then the purpose of Empowher will be fulfilled,” the influencer said in an interview.
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A new mother, Masoom also recently collaborated with India’s first virtual influencer. “I think what is going to be interesting is to see how Web3 will intertwine with the current needed for human interaction that we all have. That’s going to be a success story. Because Covid-19 made us realise that human connection is something that we yearn for, Web3, on its own, can’t be a success story. It’s really about how to bring the two teams together,” said the influencer, talking about her experience with AI.
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