Subi Manandhar is a number of things. She’s a fashion designer, stylist, certified makeup artist and, interestingly, a biker as well. And although she is only 26 years old, she has been working professionally in the fashion industry for over six years now.

Manandhar’s journey in fashion began with a diploma in fashion designing from IEC College of Arts and Fashion. However, before she had even completed her diploma, she got a chance to intern at Oodni, The Boutique, in Kupondole, Lalitpur, where she went on to work for a year. She states that she understood the inner workings of the industry and made a lot of personal connections – that would later help her secure a number of jobs and projects – during her internship period at the boutique that specializes in bridal wear. 

Manandhar says that she feels she has always been very diligent and hardworking – especially when it comes to fashion – and all of that managed to shine through and she was awarded a scholarship to do her bachelors at a Parisian fashion institute after she completed her diploma course. And even though she really wanted to grab that opportunity, she had to decline the offer because of some personal problems. But she has no regrets because fashion, for her, has been a passion and will continue to be so.

Manandhar confesses that she had been dreaming of working in the fashion sector long before she finally took the plunge. She mentions that as a child she used to collect scrap fabrics and stitch clothes for her dolls. As she grew older, she started styling her family members for fun. Acknowledging her passion for the subject, her family encouraged her to pursue fashion as a career and, to this day, all of them have been very supportive of her decisions and have made her feel proud of her choices. 

After the completion of her diploma, Manandhar worked on a lot of projects related to fashion. She reveals that she even went to Myanmar to do a course on makeup at the International Makeup School of Myanmar. She also joined the Bachelors in Fashion Designing program at IEC and graduated earlier this year. After that, she worked at two different garment factories – at both these places, she was a part of the merchandising and sampling department – where she claims to have learnt a lot about what goes on behind the production of fabrics and clothes.  

Currently though, Manandhar takes up freelance work and states that she completes about 12 to 15 projects a month. She reveals that she has also opened a studio for herself, at her old house in Basantapur, Kathmandu, and goes there to work on her personal projects whenever she has the time to do so. She admits that she doesn’t really have a favorite kind of job as she views all of her fashion-related work as art and puts her best effort into every project she gets.

According to Manandhar, the most important thing do to while working in the fashion scene, at least in the context of Nepal, is to maintain and build connections with people in the same industry. “I get a lot of my projects through the connections I’ve built over the years and I think it’s the same for a lot of people working in the Nepali fashion scene right now,” she says. 

“I know people these days display their work on social media to gain exposure which is a really smart move but it’s not something I think I would enjoy so I haven’t ventured into that yet,” she says further adding that since she is already getting enough job offers as it is, she also doesn’t want to or feel the need to publicize herself on social media.

When she isn’t working, Manandhar loves riding her bikes. She mentions that her father (who was a stunt rider in his youth) and her elder brother are the ones who got her into bikes and riding, and reveals that she has been riding for over a decade now, since she was in the eighth grade. Time and again, she participates in the Royal Enfield Women Empowerment rallies and is a part of the women riders group of Kathmandu.

Manandhar is enjoying life to the fullest, so she claims. And it’s not difficult when you know what you like and stick to it. The fashion industry, she says, can be challenging and demanding and you have to keep up with the times and trends. But she feels you shouldn’t be stressed while working on a project because then you can’t think or be creative. She also believes there is no point in stressing over things that can be fixed. 

“I don’t think people can give their best at work when they are stressed or anxious about something. So, relax and work on things that will help you in building your dream future and enjoy the process,” she concludes.

(Anweiti Upadhyay)

 
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