Embrace Cultural Heritage for ALL with Bhavana Jain
Brand Feature: Bhavana Jain & BHAV
Bhavana Jain is the Founder/Lead Designer of BHAV and a practicing clinical pharmacist at a hospital in the Chicago suburbs. After beginning her pharmacy career, she realized she had a creative itch and enrolled in the Fashion Design program at the College of DuPage. She started taking night classes to explore art and fashion design. BHAV was born in 2018 to highlight the incredibly rich diversity of South Asian heritage, and to introduce ALL women to these beautiful heritage fabrics, showcasing their ability to be seamlessly incorporated into a contemporary wardrobe.
“Through BHAV I have been able to share a piece of my own cultural identity. When someone purchases something my hope is that they support the mission of BHAV which is embracing your heritage in the way you choose to. ”
Hi, Bhavana! We love the work you are doing with your brand BHAV and would love to get to know you and how your business came to be. Can you start by telling us a little bit about yourself and how you found your way into fashion?
To introduce myself, my name is Bhavana Jain, CEO and lead designer of BHAV. I’m a clinical pharmacist by profession and am still currently working part-time at a local hospital outside of Chicago. I come from a family of healthcare workers, so it was natural that I too wanted to follow in the footsteps of my father who is a physician. Growing up in a South Asian family, it was stressed upon us to choose a career path that was a stable profession. On the flip side, however, I had a love of art and design growing up and this passion was always a part of me. When it came to choosing a career, I entered college majoring in biology. I was eventually admitted into pharmacy school and after graduating from the program, I was all set to start my career. It wasn’t until a few years into my pharmacy career that I felt like something was missing in life.
I was looking for a creative outlet, something that was always with me as a child. I decided to enroll in the fashion design program at a local college. In the beginning, I didn’t know where it would take me, but as I continued on into the program, I found myself fascinated by learning about the fundamentals of fashion design. I started to realize that my skills were becoming stronger and a few years into the program I decided to prepare for the launch of my own womenswear line.
What made you decide to make a career switch to fashion? What factors or challenges did you have to overcome, especially coming from a career in healthcare to fashion?
I think for me, ultimately what made me decide to switch to fashion was the fact that I would be able to use fashion to express my identity in the way I chose to. Growing up, I was immersed in both Indian and American culture and struggled to find what was the best balance for me. Both cultures felt very segregated and I could not find clothing that was fusion-like that I identified with. I was bursting with ideas on what I wanted to create that would represent my two identities. Designing and selling my pieces gave me a sense of fulfillment that I had been searching for. It’s a different feeling to create something and see others wear or feel a certain way in your art form.
Setting up the business definitely had its challenges as I had a career in healthcare and knew nothing about how to run a business. I had to learn so much of what it takes to start a business from scratch. Everything from sourcing fabrics to dealing with manufacturers and everything in between was all new to me. There were many times that I felt lost or hit a dead-end only because I knew nothing about the industry. Even though it was tough, I still continued to do research and learn as much as I could. I eventually found a mentor who had been in the fashion industry for some time and now was mentoring women who wanted to start a career in fashion. That’s when a lot of doors opened up for me and I was able to learn so much from someone I trusted.
“Ethical and sustainable does not just include using only organic fabrics but can include such things as making sure our fabrics are coming from ethical mills that treat their workers with respect and dignity.”
Can you share more about your brand’s approach to design? What makes your brand stand out? What do you hope your customers feel or embody when wearing your designs?
Looking back from the very beginning of the conceptualization of my business, I always wanted to incorporate my Indian heritage into the design aesthetic. Growing up in a family of Indian immigrant parents and being raised in American culture was both a beautiful and challenging thing but this was where the inspiration to incorporate both of these elements came from. Over the years, I’ve had to modify what my idea of bringing in “South Asian elements” meant. It had to be in a way that was approachable to all women here in the US and that they would be comfortable wearing it and not feel too “ethnic.” With BHAV, we have highlighted the South Asian elements in a more contemporary, modern, and chic way. Common South Asian design elements that I incorporate are bright colors, different types of embroidery, and floral and Indian motifs to name a few. I look to source our fabrics from India that local craftsmen are weaving and dying. The variety of fabrics are custom dyed and printed on with unique patterns that I have created. All these details give it more authenticity and uniqueness. Using these fabrics with western silhouettes (dresses, tops, and pants) and combining them with other easy-to-wear fabrics can transform the look of a garment into one that’s elevated. Many of the pieces are transitional and can be dressed up or down depending on how you choose to style them.
Even though BHAV is founded by a female South Asian, we strive to reach all women in the US. Through BHAV I have been able to share a piece of my own cultural identity. When someone purchases something my hope is that they support the mission of BHAV which is embracing your heritage in the way you choose to.
Can you share more about your brand’s mission and commitments to sustainable and ethical production?
BHAV is committed to finding the best ways to produce our designs in the most sustainable and ethical way possible. Ethical and sustainable does not just include using only organic fabrics but can include such things as making sure our fabrics are coming from ethical mills that treat their workers with respect and dignity. We check to see what types of dyes are being used and if they are eco-friendly. We work closely with our manufacturer here in Chicago and they make pieces as they are ordered by our customers to produce the least amount of waste. By fulfilling orders as they come, also keeps inventory low, thus less wastage overall. Lastly, we always brainstorm ways to utilize leftover fabric from past collections. We are excited to add an extension to the BHAV brand by adding a housewares line. We have created pillowcases using some of our previous best-selling fabrics for home decor. We are excited to add more products and create new designs that are in line with our values.
“I think that heritage and a multi-cultural identity go hand in hand. Heritage or your ethnic background makes up one’s identity but definitely does not define us solely as who we are.”
You’re launching your second collection already, even amidst some major challenges over the past year! What have been some of the successes and challenges for you?
With last year being a little uncertain as to how our launch would turn out, we were pleasantly surprised as to how well things lined up for us. We were in a great position to still launch and also connect with so many creatives and collaborators to introduce BHAV. These relationships helped us reach a new audience and ultimately sell our products too. As we entered 2021 and with the growth of the brand, it has been at times difficult to keep up with it. This is both a good and bad thing where the growth is positive, however now we need to come up with solutions on how to sustain the growth. We have continued to add new designs to BHAV as well as explore a new extension of it! This past year we featured a few items for the fall and holiday season. We have added several hair accessories to our existing accessory line. Our biggest addition to date is creating an extension of the brand which will be a housewares line. We are introducing pillows for home decor. We have utilized our previous best-selling fabrics in a fun and unique way.
You also focus on supporting female founders, what inspired that aspect of your mission and what ways do you and your brand activate that passion?
I think that heritage and a multi-cultural identity go hand in hand. Heritage or your ethnic background makes up one's identity but definitely does not define us solely as who we are. My parents are immigrants from India, and therefore I was exposed to the rich traditions and life of Indian culture. But growing up in the States, I also had a taste of American culture. Being a first-generation Indian-American was difficult at times because I was trying to figure out what my true identity was. As I have been on this journey, I have had the wonderful opportunity to learn about other brand owners’ stories who also are first-generation Americans.
With that, I created the blog series, ‘The Culture Connection’ which highlights various women who come from ethnic backgrounds and have them share their stories on how heritage has played a role in their lives. For some, they have embraced many facets of their heritage and have passed on these values and ideas to their own children. Others have embraced their heritage and used elements of it in their respective careers. Some have embraced other cultures and incorporated them into their lives because of being in a multicultural marriage. I think the beauty of showcasing these amazing stories shows how a lot of women have the power to embrace their heritage in the way they choose to. We are proud to provide this platform for women to share a piece of themselves with everyone and hopefully inspire others.
“I truly believe we all have different paths in life and we may start out with one thing and end up doing something else we never even imagined. But I think that stems back to the many experiences in life we will go through and relationships we cultivate along the way.”
What do you wish more people knew about Indian fashion, textiles, or culture in general?
Indian fashion is made up of so many gorgeous fabrics, as well as so many ancient design techniques from block printing, to weaving to embroidery. And these are all just to name a few. When you have so many options in design creation, it leaves the mind to imagine how to incorporate all this together to create a garment. I believe each piece tells a story that represents the rich history of India and its culture. Being Indian myself, I have learned so much about these ancient techniques that have been passed down from century to century. It’s so exciting to utilize these aspects in the designs I create and bring them to the public.
What words of wisdom would you give entrepreneurs or aspiring female founders?
I truly believe it’s a wonderful time to be a student right now in the age of technology and entrepreneurship. We live in a world where you can turn any idea into a business, or an organization. The age of social media has allowed us to see so many possibilities and connect with countless numbers of people in the same space. With all that being said, it can be a daunting and overwhelming situation. I think there are certain things that one should consider before entering into a career in entrepreneurship.
First, it’s important to not overlook the financial aspect of starting a business. It is crucial to have some sort of business plan in place. It doesn’t have to be sophisticated but it should address what your estimated startup costs will be and where those funds will come from. Without a realistic approach to starting a business, you may run into problems later. Secondly, you should go into entrepreneurship knowing how to embrace failure instead of looking at it as a negative thing. Go into it knowing that you will fail many times and it’s ok. It may sound a little harsh, but if you don’t learn from the challenges you won’t grow as a person or a brand.
Overall, it is always important to be true and authentic to yourself no matter what you do in life. I truly believe we all have different paths in life and we may start out with one thing and end up doing something else we never even imagined. But I think that stems back to the many experiences in life we will go through and relationships we cultivate along the way. Personally, for me, I always had a true gift in art but also had a desire to help others through a career in healthcare. But as time went on, as I was working in Pharmacy, I on my own realized what my true calling was, and that was expressing a part of me through the art of fashion design. I think it’s important to not ignore what your true passion is in life.
I believe that you will always be successful in the things that you are truly good at because you don’t look at it as a job, but something that brings happiness. Those are the people who truly succeed because they are doing what they love wholeheartedly. I encourage students or anyone no matter what age, to always strive for their dreams. If it can’t happen now, then always have hope it can happen one day if you try and put effort into it.
You can follow the work of Bhavana and her brand @shopbhav. Explore ‘The Culture Connection’ with more stories of women who share their stories on how heritage has played a role in their lives.