It is commonly heard amongst people that behind every successful man, there is a woman. But what is behind the success of a woman who is on the path to achieving big goals in her life? It’s courage, confidence and faith in one’s ability. That’s the story of my life. And my brand label, Pink Paparazzi.

Although I am a daughter of an Army officer and got married to an Army officer, we had never met before our marriage. It was an arranged marriage through a matrimonial column. Post that I was very happy in my own world.

Army life consists of a lot of social events. I too had to go to all these social outings, and parties and had to dress up appropriately. Being always passionate about fashion, I used to take special care in sarees I used to wear. In those social gatherings people used to appreciate my sarees and blouses. Soon my friends started asking for fashion advice and my designs. This gave me the confidence to think about starting my own line. I used my own savings to start my work.

I had an education in advertising and not in fashion. But because of my interest, I learnt the basics of fashion myself. I bought all the material myself, designed them and modeled them as well. In all this my husband became my pillar of strength and my biggest supporter. He played the role of friend, philosopher, guide and a driver too. He used to drive me to places where I could buy the materials I required. He used to patiently wait for me when I used to haggle with the vendors on their pricing. Pink Paparazzi wouldn’t have been possible without him.

And in a very short time I started getting good response for my designs. So thought of leveraging digital media and launched my own website last year.

Initially when I had started it was just 3 sarees, now I have expanded into salwar suits and lehenga skirts. I have also got an offer to showcase my stuff on a big eCommerce brand.
But after all this success, I am still one-woman army for my brand. I still prefer to buy all the material myself, design them and yes even model them. My daughter who is now in her teens shares my dream of establishing our label in every big city.

Currently I am based in Jammu and my business is in Chandigarh. But life in Army has taught me to manage both my home and business well.

My positivity and determination has done wonders to me! I am self-made person who believes in doing things and overcoming all the obstacles. And I believe that each and every woman is capable of achieving success in her life in her own way. Just follow your dreams and your passion for what you love to do and you will eventually know what is the right way to achieve success.

— Chetna Gandhi —

Wife of an Army Officer, a mompreneur, a  homemaker a great mother and founder of Pink Paparazzi, a fashion brand for women.