Mizoram Homegrown Label Vakiria Now A Revolutionary Online Retail Brand

‘Vakiria’ a term that bears quite a traditional significance for the Mizo people, is now a common and popular brand name. Traditionally, Vakiria means a conventional headgear which is commonly worn by Mizo women. But today this has become the name of a fashion apparel brand’s name which can be bought online and includes both western and traditional clothing for men and women.

The best part is that the brand Vakiria is that 95% of the staffs of the company are women. The company has a total of 300 staffs in it. All the women staffs of the organization are engaged in significant roles like fashion designers, tailors, handloom experts and management staff.

Speaking about the reason behind having so many women employees in the company, the co-founder of Vakiria, Lalsangzeli says, “From the day we started the brand — in 2005 — we emphasised on employing women. We wanted these women to be more than simply cogs in a wheel.”

She also added that as most of the women employees of Vakiria come from economically weak families, they are not aware as to what women empowerment is. For them, the age-old convention of considering men superior to them is still prominent. It is this thought of the women employees that the founders of the brand want to change and make them believe in their capability.

While expressing her views on fashion, the co-founder stated, “People often said they expressed themselves through fashion, and that is true. Fashion is not just about clothes but is also an expression of ideas, passion, personality and emotions. Our fashion designers express themselves through their work.”

Notably, the Mizo clothing brand is also famous for selling the Mizo ‘Puan’ which is an ethnic wraparound skirt. The ‘Puan’ is one of the highest selling clothing of the brand.

Lalsangzeli further stated the history of the company in these words, “We first started our business venture with the name ‘Computerised Embroidery’ becoming the first brand in Mizoram to computerise embroidery apparels.”

It is a must mention here that along with the women staffs of the brand, the founders of the brand too found the true meaning of self-dependency and freedom for women through their venture that they started in 2005. Remarkably, Lalsangzeli was a higher secondary school teacher by profession who later started Vaikiria with her two sisters, Laldingsangi and Lalrinpuii.