Bazaar's Story

Well, would you look at that, you made it to the About page. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if anyone even reads these things.

Since you’re here, let’s get to know each other.

Hi, I’m Ashna. I’m the founder of Bazaar.

I wish I could tell you I’ve had a passion for fashion since I was a little girl, sketching designs in the pages of my school notebooks. But that wouldn’t be true.

The truth is, my passion has always been building things — things that make people happy, and make a difference in some small way.

Bazaar was born out of frustration while I was shopping for my wedding. Specifically, the lack of ease in customizing South Asian apparel. The first version of Bazaar focused on traditional lehengas and kurtas.

I spent 13 months developing the initial concept, including tech that let you mix and match designs, and then two months in India, away from my husband, friends, and family, building the first collection.

After over a year heads down and tens of thousands of dollars of my savings later, I finally launched Bazaar. And when I took a step back to admire my hard work…something just didn’t feel right.

Just one month after launching, I shut it all down and went back to the drawing board.

I started having real conversations, and got feedback from hundreds of women about what they loved and hated about shopping for South Asian fashion.

It turns out, the market is already full of options, and if you’re willing to spend the time, you’ll find something beautiful. But what almost everyone told me was how frustrating it felt to invest in an outfit that would only see the light of day once. On top of that, sizing and fit were often a nightmare, and it was nearly impossible to find something that felt both flattering and modern enough to wear again outside of a wedding.

So I started thinking about what it would look like to build pieces that were still special and celebratory, but could actually live in your wardrobe beyond a single event. Something you’d be excited to wear again. Pieces that move with you through different parts of your life; whether that’s dinner downtown, your cousin’s wedding, or anywhere in between.

One thing I’ve learned through this journey is not to hold on too tightly to a single vision. At the end of the day, I just want to create pieces people genuinely love.

I’ll never try to make this fashion brand out to be deeper than it is...clothes aren’t going to save the world. But if Bazaar can help people feel confident, celebrated, and excited to get dressed in pieces that feel true to every version of themselves, that feels pretty special to me.

Thanks for being here.

- Ashna