She has an impeccable style of dressing and surely makes heads turn when she dresses up. She has a passion for fashion and an inimitable style too. This was reflected in the way she was dressed up for the interview – formal yet elegantly. An avid blogger who blogs mostly on fashion, she had her own clothes label for a short time which did rather well. Armed with degrees in Business Management (Case Western Reserve University and Fashion (Parsons School of Design, New York), Priyanka Chigurupati is now involved totally with the family business in pharmaceuticals. After making a mark in fashion, this young girl is raring to do so in pharmaceuticals says Radhika Rajamani.
While Priyanka was pursuing her Business Management degree her exposure to fashion was tremendous. “I used to shop a lot in the United States even before I began my education. Living in the US was different. There was a lot of media exposure and I could shop a lot. Subsequently I went to Parsons School in New York which is a living, breathing and eating fashion city.” Priyanka started a style blog as a hobby. After finishing her education in 2012 she came back to India and pondered about what to do. Then she joined the family business of pharmaceuticals and worked for about nine months. Even though she was travelling in that period to Latin America she was not too happy and she quit it to take up fashion.
Priyanka admits she is a big shopaholic. She used to buy a lot of stuff in the US. “There were no places in Hyderabad where I could shop. Then I started my own label. For a year and a half it was amazing. People responded to my clothes well.” She made primarily Western and Indo-Western for the women aged between 18 and 30. Her marketing strategies were good. Her short videos on various thematic aspects of fashion are still available on the Net. She operated online (UniqueStyle11.com) as well as out of a studio. After one and a half years she thought about the long term prospects in fashion. “I had the feeling of independence. Fashion is one of the most hardest and difficult industries. It takes a while to mark a mark.” About four and a half months back I decided to get back to my family business also with a bit of advice from my father. So I have to start from scratch and commit myself to pharmaceuticals. I am into business development. There is a lot to learn here.”
Even now Priyanka continues to blog regularly and posts pictures. I can’t run a label on half time. So I keep myself updated on fashion by reading. I help in styling some of my friends. Priyanka is really fond of dressing up so she attends parties on weekends. Being busy at work these days, she shops mostly online. She has a big craving for shoes and believe it or not her collection runs into some two hundred plus!
With a figure to die for it’s natural that Priyanka works out rigorously to maintain it every day. Also having parents who are marathon runners has helped. Exercise and healthy food are part of her life. “I realised diet is 70 per cent and workout is 30 per cent. Besides working out at home, spending many hours in the office Priyanka browses online watches a lot of TV shows and reads fiction when she can. She doesn’t run marathons like her parents but has participated in some runs and half marathons. “I have weak knees and I am not that kind of a person who will put in the effort for marathons.”
Having inspiring parents who supported her in fashion and are doing so now too Priyanka is learning the ropes in pharmaceuticals and it is just a matter of time that she will carve her own space there too like she did in fashion. “I will hopefully make a difference to the company.”
Favourite things
Favourite brands: Zara, Balmain, Christian Louboutin, Giuseppe Zanotti, Sabyasachi, H & M, Reed Krakoff, Shilpa Reddy, Pankaj & Nidhi
Favourite restaurants: Olive (Hyderabad), Ollie’s, Todd English Food Hall at the Plaza (New York), Set’z (New Delhi)
Favourite holiday destination: New York (it’s like a second home), Tuscany, Paris
Favourite movies: I am a big movie buff. I keep watching Ninne Pelladutha (Telugu), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Hindi), Sex and the City Part 1, Vicky, Cristina Barcelona (English) over and over again
Favourite Books: I tend to read more mind versus body kind of books
