It was a proud moment for local fashion buyer Zulfikar Ali as his outlet, AZA Design Studio began operations at Garden City in Raiwai from today after overcoming the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ali has described the pandemic as a blessing in disguise for him on a personal level which enabled him to start his own business as he was unemployed.
He says it all began with a dinner when a family friend encouraged him and offered financial support.
4 other people are employed in the outlet.
Ali says they are looking at going into more product lines in the future and if the demand is more, then they will be adding more people to their team.
Ali says he started the business from his home 4 months ago and it started really well however there were some customers gave a feedback that it was difficult for them to reach out because of the location.
His interest in the industry dates back to well over 19 years when he was a fashion buyer for Tappoo’s.
Ali says he was a sales person before going into buying and that helped him understand the market and the demands of the customers.
He did his first collection was in 2012 where he sourced fabrics from India which was showcased at the Fiji Fashion Week and it was an instant hit.
