STAMPED IMPRESSIONS
Designed to excel
Reeta Sharma

Reeta Sharma writes about an IIM graduate who has carved out a niche for herself as a fashion designer in the USA

Ruby Ashraf is a pleasantly chirpy woman. Even when she kept me entertained with her interesting comments on life, I did not fail to see her childlike innocence. Neither her mind-boggling success nor her wealth nor her fame has gone to her head.

Ruby is a famous fashion designer in the USA with her own distribution and display centres at Dallas, Atlanta and Chicago, which bring an annual turnover of $ 10 million. And, interestingly, she has never done any course in fashion designing. She, however, acquired an MBA degree from IIM, Ahemdabad, in 1983.

Despite tasting success and managing a full-scale business in the competitive US market, there’s no hint of arrogance or conceit in her. She regales you about her first venture in Texas with her best friend Sunita, which turned out to be a flop show. "We enthusiastically put up a stall in front of the university with colorful Indian stuff. But lo and behold, we were shunted out as we had no licence."

Talking of Ahemdabad, Ruby slips into a world of "hard yet wonderful days." Even after two decades, she can give you minute details of those days. "I was very afraid of Professor Bhandari and Professor A. K. Jain. They were excellent teachers and obviously wanted best out of the students, which meant that we remained on our toes all the time."

In the USA, a compliment on a dress that she wore at a Christmas party, opened a new chapter in her life. "Everybody thought that it was a designer label. When I told them that I had designed and stitched it myself, they were wonderstruck and coaxed me to do some dresses for them. It was routine work for me as I had learnt stitching from my mother in my childhood. But the experiment was a tremendous hit, paving way for me to start my own business. Management came easily to me because of my training at Ahmedabad."

One after the other, Ruby opened her wholesale showrooms, where retailers come to place orders and watch her models display dresses designed by her. A perfectionist, she likes to leave nothing to chance. Whether designing or organising model shows or managing delivery of orders, Ruby monitors everything herself.

The business of wholesale clothing in the USA is basically dominated by men. "But Americans accepted me right away. I have never been discriminated against as a woman. Initially, my accent was a major problem. Yet, it never affected my business. Of course, now you can vouch for my American accent," Ruby bursts into infectious laughter

For her dresses, she imports fabric from India and China. "Although I am an Indian, I feel sorry for my country. I would love to buy all the fabric from India but corrupt practices, disorganised system and inordinate delays put me off. Despite the fact that my mother is in India, I spend only a day or two there. In China, I end up staying for eight to 10 days. I do not know their language and I miss my food yet I am forced to do business in China, because people there are simply super. The quality of their fabric is extremely good. They open their market for you in the most alluring manner. They hold fabric shows for you to make the process of selection easier. As opposed to India, importing from China is totally hassle-free."

Ruby has come out with two fashion magazines. She sold one million copies and this increased her business output by 25 per cent. No wonder she has been invited to be a part of the Young Presidents Organization, an international US-based association of all young entrepreneurs who have crossed the $10 million turnover.

Is she excited about making it to the prestigious organisation? "You know this thought of turnover did not even cross my mind until it was pointed out. All my life I have believed in the Bhagavadgita’s teachings that one must do the day’s work with passion and that that should give one satisfaction. I enjoy doing my work and I give my best to it. I had always dreamt high in life. But that dream was not related to making money. Today my dream has come my way and the money is like bonus. I am passionate about anything that I may do." They say that behind every successful man there is a woman. In the case of Ruby’s success, her husband Javed Ashraf has supported her in every way. He is an expert in genetics as well as an excellent photographer and shoots his wife’s shows.

This feature was published on September 11, 2004