Fashion entrepreneur Aaina Jain’s mission is “to do denim right,” and she has been on a fast track to carry out that vision for the last 3 years.
Jain is the founder of children’s denim clothing brand Blu & Blue, based in New York City. On the other side of the world in Delhi, India, her family’s clothing manufacturing business is in its 35th year of operation. Over the years, the family firm has worked with the likes of Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, The Children’s Place and Armani Exchange — and built the kind of business DNA that offers an invaluable asset for a young entrepreneur.
So when Jain decided to launch her own clothing brand, she didn’t start from scratch to find a factory or source fabric — she already had somewhere to turn. She established Blu & Blue as a subsidiary of the family business so she could take advantage of its manufacturing infrastructure, giving herself a considerable leg up.
And her brand grew quickly, she says. Since starting up Blu & Blue in December 2015, her dresses, rompers, shirts and more — all made from her “butter soft” denim — have entered more than 200 boutiques across the United States. The brand has won several celebrity fans, including singer Jennifer Lopez and actresses Jessica Alba, January Jones and Naomi Watts. Jain declined to disclose annual revenue, but says the company already has about 100 employees.
And now, she’s embarking on an international expansion.
A Running Start for Blu & Blue
Jain grew up in India, and says she always wanted to work the fashion world. She recalls spending her childhood days studying the work of the tailors in her family’s factories and asking questions about the fabrics.
When she got older, she moved to Boston to study marketing. Then, in 2007, she moved to fashion capital New York City, and for several years worked for famous fashion firms like Gap Inc. and Estee Lauder. But she had inherited her parents’ entrepreneurial bug, and wanted to start something all her own.
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Fashion entrepreneur Aaina Jain’s mission is “to do denim right,” and she has been on a fast track to carry out that vision for the last 3 years.
Jain is the founder of children’s denim clothing brand Blu & Blue, based in New York City. On the other side of the world in Delhi, India, her family’s clothing manufacturing business is in its 35th year of operation. Over the years, the family firm has worked with the likes of Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, The Children’s Place and Armani Exchange — and built the kind of business DNA that offers an invaluable asset for a young entrepreneur.
So when Jain decided to launch her own clothing brand, she didn’t start from scratch to find a factory or source fabric — she already had somewhere to turn. She established Blu & Blue as a subsidiary of the family business so she could take advantage of its manufacturing infrastructure, giving herself a considerable leg up.
And her brand grew quickly, she says. Since starting up Blu & Blue in December 2015, her dresses, rompers, shirts and more — all made from her “butter soft” denim — have entered more than 200 boutiques across the United States. The brand has won several celebrity fans, including singer Jennifer Lopez and actresses Jessica Alba, January Jones and Naomi Watts. Jain declined to disclose annual revenue, but says the company already has about 100 employees.
And now, she’s embarking on an international expansion.
A Running Start for Blu & Blue
Jain grew up in India, and says she always wanted to work the fashion world. She recalls spending her childhood days studying the work of the tailors in her family’s factories and asking questions about the fabrics.
When she got older, she moved to Boston to study marketing. Then, in 2007, she moved to fashion capital New York City, and for several years worked for famous fashion firms like Gap Inc. and Estee Lauder. But she had inherited her parents’ entrepreneurial bug, and wanted to start something all her own.
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