We were privileged enough to land an interview with the amazing Rokeya Khanum, founder of iconic luxury clothing brand Khanum’s. Focusing on effortless luxury, women empowerment and timeless sustainability, Khanum has been creating garments since 2018. We are so excited to share Khanum’s amazing origin story and how she spotted a gap in the market for her brand of niche evening wear. We also explore the incredible business success she has had within the brand’s -so far- short lifetime and upcoming creations we can look out for.
How did your journey begin with Khanum’s?
Khanum’s started as a side hustle. I had lost my job through redundancy and was left unemployed for 18 months. After interviewing for jobs non stop everyday and being rejected everyday, I finally found a full-time role. When I eventually landed this role, I told myself that I needed an additional stream of income with hopes of additional financial security. The only option for me was to start a ‘side hustle’.
The idea to start a niche evening wear, particularly jackets, stemmed from seeing a gap in the market for affordable, luxury statement pieces. There were several established high end designer brands offering what I wanted to create but the price points were never attainable for women like myself. My personal preference and ‘financial lane’ at the time admired luxury fashion with some high street styling. I loved the luxury customer experience from the quality of clothing to the sophisticated packaging detail and wanted to create a brand which offered this. I thought, what can I do to cater to an aspirational customer like myself, and create something quite luxurious yet affordable at the same time? That’s how Khanum’s started.
You’re an entrepreneur and saw a gap in the market! So, you didn’t have a design background at all?
No, I didn’t. I studied Law at University. It’s quite a broad subject and I feel like it’s equipped me with a lot of analytical and research skills. I specialised in Intellectual Property Law which has proven extremely beneficial to Khanum’s with the design law aspect, protecting my designs etc, so I don’t regret it at all.
With you not having a design background, which is not unheard of, how did you actually get into fashion design? What does that process look like?
Well, I feel like I’ve always been a natural creative. My parents are Bangladeshi immigrants who came to London in the late 70s and worked in the garment-making industry. They would produce bulk orders at home for a London-based manufacturer which was just round the corner from where we lived in Brick Lane. So, I was fully exposed to garment production at home. I witnessed my mum cutting patterns and fabric on our kitchen dinner table, then stitch all those fabrics into clothing in our machine room. My dad would do the same after he’d come back from working in restaurants. My older sister was artistic too, she’d always be sketching designs. Just from observation I’d see what they’d be doing and I’d sneak off to do it myself. Creativity and design has always been with me. It’s just not something that I chose to pursue because of certain circumstantial challenges.
Wow! When did you feel like it went from a side hustle to the full-time business that it is now?
I never saw Khanum’s as a business that would become something as amazing as it is now. I never envisioned that at all. I thought, it’s just a side hustle, a bit of money coming in, and I’ll put it towards savings. I’ll continue my 9-5 job, because that’s the main security. However, within the first few months there was an incredible surge of brand credibility and validation through revenue and brand awareness from social media and influencers that wanted to collaborate with us.
The first collaboration that we did was with an influencer named Charlotte Emily Sanders, who was incredibly nice. She was happy to borrow a jacket, take a mirror selfie, and from that we had so many influencers requesting to collaborate with us. It was like a domino effect. It was so natural and organic and that’s what really helped increase revenue and generate sales beyond expectation.
In the first seven months of running the business, as a side hustle from my bedroom, I managed to solely generate six figures. I then thought, maybe I should quit my job? I had a lot of customers, and I couldn’t continue my job as well as running my business outside of that. I was picking and packing orders, responding to customer service emails and DMs, marketing and putting Instagram/email posts together before work, during lunch breaks and after work. It just got to a point where it was a lot to keep up with the demand. I sat on the idea of quitting the day job, because I was scared. The fear of losing financial security lingered from my past experience of being unemployed for 18 months.
In my mind, I was scarred by the fact that it was hard to finally get a job and here I am now thinking about quitting? What if my business fails? What if I quit my job and I don’t get as many sales as I do right now? It was a really difficult decision. It was only 18 months after I started Khanum’s where I semi took the leap of faith. I had a conversation with my manager and I asked her if I could work part time, and that my business wouldn’t conflict with that job. She asked if she could have a look at my business, so she looked at my website and social media. Plot twist! She knew my brand, but didn’t know it was mine. It was quite crazy. She was the one to tell me to quit my job and focus on the business. It was the push I needed.
It sounds like it was scary for you, but it’s really paid off, hasn’t it? Were there any other creative influences that you had when you were growing up?
In terms of role models in business and entrepreneurship, when I was unemployed, I read the book ‘Girl Boss’ by Sophia Amoruso. Then, the Netflix adaptation came out, and I watched that five times. If you’ve watched that, or if you’ve read the book, you can see her journey when she’s struggling with her day job, wanting to make a quick buck which then unintentionally exploded. That planted a seed in my mind and thought maybe that’s what I could do as well?
I also read ‘How to Become an Overnight Success’ by Maria Hatzistefanis, the founder of Rodial Beauty. She detailed her entrepreneurship journey over 10 years which finally led to success. Those two were key inspirations for me in terms of starting up a business.
In terms of key role models, without sounding cliché, I saw my mum as a great role model. I saw her raising seven kids at home, an amazing full-time mum, she was a housewife, but was also working to make ends meet. She was making clothes for all of these brands and was doing so whilst raising all of us. I just thought; she’s a woman that’s so efficient, so militant, and gets everything done. I admired that, and recognised her determination with zero excuses at all. If this woman can do all that? Why can’t I, as a woman working 9-5, with a side hustle, and also being a mother to only one child? So, in terms of resilience, efficiency and dedication, my key role model has always been my mum.
What advice would you give to aspiring creatives or people that want to go into the fashion business?
Many say that the fashion industry is extremely saturated, but I feel like there’s a space for everyone. I think the key is to really research the market that you want to go into and find a niche. You have to stand out from the crowd and you need to have a unique selling point. Master your niche/USP, then the next key is finding methods of communicating why your brand is IT. You also need to consider your niche as finding a solution to a lot of people’s problems. For me, I thought, I’m young and I want to buy statement pieces. I love jackets, but the only other brands I saw that did those kinds of jackets are very high fashion, established brands, selling them for thousands of pounds which wasnt attainable for me. I wanted to create an affordable, luxury brand and provide the customer service and experience of a luxury brand. That way it’s honed in on both experiences, but you’re not paying the price. My advice would be to find a unique selling point and figure out the experience that you’re going to be providing for that customer.
You’ve had some exciting influencers and cool people wear your clothes. Who would you say has been your favourite person to work with so far?
Seeing Nicole Scherzinger wear a Khanum’s blazer. She was always a woman crush for me. So that was amazing.
Is there anything exciting that you’re allowed to share with us that you’ve got coming up?
We are launching our bridal collection next March, which is going to be incredible.. We’ve been working through the embellishment swatches and designs, we’re getting there! Khanum’s Bridal is not your traditional bridal gowns, it’s not going to be anything like that. It bridges the gap for the non-conventional bride and provides a 360 wardrobe for the brides entire wedding journey abnd experience and journey from engagement party to honeymoon fits. That’s the niche I’ve discovered for bridal, and that’s what I want to push into.
Interview by Jyoti Matoo
Graphics Header Image By Mia Washbrook
