She has been a part of the Indian fashion industry for 25 years, and says she leads a simple life today. A designer who is interested in experimenting with different natural fabrics, Niki Mahajan has developed a special fabric called ‘Reed’.

Attention at home

Mahajan feels that at a time when Indian designers have made a mark in the international fashion market, the domestic market needs to be developed more.

“Ours is a vast country. So we should focus at developing our local market without giving a stepmotherly treatment to it.”

Publicity matters

Mahajan believes that the number of fashion weeks being held at a place doesn’t matter unless the publicity is done properly. “We don’t have many international buyers because we haven’t been able to do good publicity,” she says.

Sticking to USP

For somebody who has made her mark in an industry, which asks for innovation and freshness time and again, the balancing act between the two is a tough job.

“It isn’t a problem. After all these years, I haven’t lost my signature style. You just have to keep the USP of your brand intact while innovating styles,” she suggests.

Nepal must be seen

Nepal should let the fashion industry of other countries know what it has for them, she says.

“I am in this industry but still I have no clue about the fashion industry here. So you should make us literate.”

However, she says she noticed a lot of precious stones and jewelleries and that she could see the possibility of doing something with those stones and also the colours of the stones.

Her kinda weekend

I am more of a homebody than a party animal. I just get Sundays off and I love to spend time doing household chores. I even dust the house myself.

The other thing that I love is gardening. I enjoy cooking as well. And although I can cook different cuisines, I prefer Indian food.

I am not into movies that much but I do read a lot. I read all types of book — fiction or non-fiction.

As my children have grown up, I have all the time for other things at home like my dogs.