← Next On Scene: The Human Behind The Brand
Next On Scene: The Human Behind The Brand
The Rise of Ethical Custom Clothing with Happy Lilliput Founder Megha Pati
00:17:12
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- [00:00]
Jackie Zook
Welcome back to becoming Next on Scene, everybody. It is your host, Jackie Zook. It is another awesome day for another awesome episode of how to become next on Scene in your field of business or in your passion. Before I bring on my amazing guest, I always like to start with a tip that can be used personally or professionally. So something that really resonates with me today is the feeling of overwhelm. When you're going through a transition in life, things come up. Parenthood's a real thing. You're running a business. Whatever it might look like for you, you're working, working full time. It's like you're. There's no such thing as balance, but really making five to ten minutes for yourself a day like sitting and meditating, which is something I haven't done yet and I absolutely need to do. I try to do it before I go to bed if I can't do it during the day. And I really feel like it's going to set you up for success. I also learned this really fun hack on TikTok that if you put salt in your shoes, it actually attracts more abundance into your life. And I started doing that and it absolutely worked the other day. Like, I don't know if you like TikTok, but they're full of so many fun facts. So I am so excited to have you all and oh, so excited to have you. I'm talking about my fashion show. I am so excited for you all to listen to this amazing episode with Megha Patil, who is the amazing owner behind Happy Lilliput. And she is just so talented in her craft. Custom design is her jam. She is making me an incredible outfit for my fashion show and if you haven't gotten your tickets, I really hope that you do and I hope to see you June 7th to celebrate 10 years of next on Scene. And stay tuned for the amazing, amazing mega.
- [01:39]
Megha Patil
The ups, the downs and all the in between. What it takes to become next on scene. Are you next? Follow us at Next on Scene.
- [02:00]
Jackie Zook
Welcome back to coming Next on Scene, everybody. I am so excited to be here with the amazing Mega Patil, who is the designer, fashion designer behind Happy Lily Putt and put Happy Lily put everyone. I always mispronounce it so I apologize in advance. And she is an amazing fashion business consultant. So we are going to learn today all about fashion Mega. Welcome to the podcast.
- [02:22]
Megha Patil
Hi Jackie. Thank you so much for having me. It's such an honor to be talking with you. I am so. Because we always meet. But yes, this is something different and Fun.
- [02:32]
Jackie Zook
I'm so excited. And you know like podcasts, there's always mispronunciations like thank you for your patience. Life happens, you know what I'm saying? So you are just so talented in your craft. Like tell everyone a little bit about your background, about how you fell into the world of fashion design and then we will go from there.
- [02:48]
Megha Patil
Yeah, so. So Jackie, you know, to be very honest with fashion designing, I think I, I was just born with it because when I was a kid, you know, I always used to feel fabric. Like my mom used to wear these wonderful six yard fabric which are called sarees in India. And then everyone, I used to be around them wearing sarees and salwar suits and stuff like that. Like there was a lot of fabric always around my, like you know, whatever I used to do and I used to see people wearing a lot of fabrics. So I used to go and feel those fabric, you know, secretly like sneaking around just to see how this fabric feels, what is the touch of this? You know, I, I had no clue that what I'm doing there, but I just used to enjoy touching fabrics and then I like you know, being an Indian. So always like, you know, we are very, very focused or our families really want us to become doctors or engineers. You know, like the creativity is like a second, it's like a hobby. But yes, your profession has to be something great. So. So my parents, like, you know, they insisted me that I should become a doctor and that was not really my plan, but still just to make them happy, I did my biochemistry. So by profession I would say like you know, by degree I'm BSc, biochemist. And along with that like I always had my passion for fashion which I never let it die. So I used to design a lot of clothing for local boutiques and local dealers. And you know, I worked with a move like television company in India as well for some time where I gained a lot of experience, like hands on experience in fashion designing and styling. Styling was not even a thing back then, but yes, I understood like how to navigate around fabrics and you know, tailors and every single thing. So that's how I just started like getting deeper into fashion designing and then I started my career in that.
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Jackie Zook
I love this. And then you had a daughter and then you launched your amazing line around the inspiration of her. So share more about that because they're so beautiful.
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Megha Patil
Yeah, so. So like you know, like as I said, fashion designing was always there. I was always designing for women and everyone around me. But yes, when like 2011, I gave birth to a beautiful daughter and her first birthday dress. Like, it was such a big struggle for me to find something which I really wanted to. So it's, it's such a funny story that, you know, my husband and me, we both literally. We both literally sat on the sewing machine and I used to like, I cut patterns and I told him, you know, can you sew? And he, he didn't know to sew. It was an experiment. You know, we both sat on the sewing machine and we sewed a beautiful outfit for her, which was tool and you know, it was elaborate and stuff like that. And then I think, oh, great. So like, you know, these, these things can happen in real life.
- [05:28]
Jackie Zook
I like that, love that.
- [05:30]
Megha Patil
And then that's how like, you know, in 2012, I started all my research, 12, 13, you know, I started my research around this brand, like, how do I do about. Go about it and stuff. But I was always traveling like travelers and I, I was moving around countries with my husband for his job and stuff. So my career was not always stable. I was always a freelancer, I would say. But then, yes, along with that, I just, I used to sketch, sit for hours and hours, you know, with this fabric, that fabric. And that's how like in 2023, finally, you know, dreams take time to make them real. So, yes, in 2023, I was able to launch my own clothing brand for little girls. And that's how the journey with happily would begin.
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Jackie Zook
So amazing. And for people who aren't familiar with like the name of the business and your story, can you just share briefly that what inspired the name of the business?
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Megha Patil
Yeah, so happy Lilliput. So happy is like, of course, like I, I love to all the time. So that's why the name Happy, like I started like added the word happy to it. But Lilliput is like, you know, pretty tiny, small people. And growing up, I always used to read a lot of fairy tales, you know, so there was like Gulliver's Travels was one of my favorites. So it was not like it, it was a novel. And in there, there was these little tiny people who I really got inspired with. So that's why I thought, okay, let me just go back to my childhood and get these two names together and then just make it happy. Little bit.
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Jackie Zook
So adorable. So adorable.
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Megha Patil
This summer, my logo is a shooting star, you know, which, which is really a story to be told. So because I want to make people's dreams come, come true. So that's why it's a shooting star. And I'M here for you.
- [07:04]
Jackie Zook
Oh my God, I love that so much. And actually speaks in your logo too because I think about the shooting star in your logo. It's so adorable. And now like so also really cool about Mega that she doesn't share enough but she's helping really popular like well known Indian designers who just did an incredible event right over. You were showing me about that the other day. Can you share about that a little bit?
- [07:25]
Megha Patil
Yeah, so, so like, you know, I, along with my career in fashion, like I always used to design curriculum for fashion colleges back in India, you know, because I learned so many things in India and I went to the UK to pursue my fashion styling. So I, I saw the gap between the Indian education and what was happening in London. So I thought, okay, let me just, you know, put some courses and curriculum together. And that's how I started designing curriculum for fashion colleges in India. And from there a lot of students, they found that, okay, this person is something like, you know, she can help us out. And with my humble and kind nature, I was always able to support people. You know, the things which I lacked in my life like while I was studying and growing up, I tried to give that to these students. So amongst those like so many students are great designers today. Like, you know, they have dreams, they have goals, they have visions, but they don't have a direction. So that's where I always come in place. Like, you know, I give them directions. So recently, yes, about the same brand. So this guy, like, you know, he was such an amazing, incredible student and he launched his own brand and at a very, very big scale. So that was a great thing. And along with that, like there are so many other students or you know, entrepreneurs who really want to like, you know, get capsule collection designed or you know, their clothing. Like if they are doing just Indian where they want to expand into Western wear. So I consult all those things. I make their designs. Like I have a wonderful, incredible team back in India and, and they are, they are the ones who make this like, you know, make this real and make this happen. Because I'm here and they are there. They're executing every single thing over there and that's there.
- [09:04]
Jackie Zook
How often are you going back there to check in on your work?
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Megha Patil
And, and so 4:00am in the morning, I'm awake and I'm on zoom or video calls like every morning. But I go like every six months. I like mostly I'm in India like for a month or so and I see how the production is coming up, like the new Brands which we are launching. So because we take like around six to eight months to launch a new brand. So it starts from ideation to sketches and product development and you know, production, manufacturing and then the brand launch. So it takes six.
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Jackie Zook
So cool.
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Megha Patil
Yeah, go ahead.
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Jackie Zook
I just, I didn't mean to interrupt. Go ahead. I just.
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Megha Patil
Sorry. Yeah, I go when it's an initial phase and then I go and it's about to get launched.
- [09:46]
Jackie Zook
So cool. And then did you talk about the connection with your mom? Because your mom has the background in fashion too. Like, I love connection.
- [09:53]
Megha Patil
So my, so my mom is the one who inspired me. You know, like, as a kid I never, I never wore store clothes, you know, Jackie. Never? Never. Like very few times, yes. My dad used to take me to like, you know, there was a couple of stores like in Benzer which were like very famous and great stores back in India. So I used to go there to shop with my mom and dad. But most of my clothes were sewn by my mom. You know, she used to go to these sewing classes, she used to learn things over there. Then we both used to go fabric shopping, you know. And then she used to buy these fabrics for me. She used to sew them and I used to try and I, I was the most amazing and well dressed person amongst my friends, you know, growing up. So. Yeah, I remember that. So that's how like, you know, she was always into this and she helped me, she supported me, like financially. I would say yes, like, you know, because I wouldn't have been able to do such a big thing without a backup from my family. So my mom really helped me that way as well. But yes, now I'm able to grow it and you know, stay up to her expectations.
- [10:53]
Jackie Zook
That's amazing. Amazing. And I now feel like that ties to what you're doing now because you do so much custom work. So can we talk about how customization for people has evolved so much that there's more of an interest? I think it's always been popular, but I think now that it's like transitioning, would you say like there's just more of an, a demand for it?
- [11:13]
Megha Patil
Yeah, because, you know, like now people, because of social media, everybody's getting so aware, like, you know, there's so much of, well, awareness about what the fashion industry is doing to the planet, you know, so there's, there's always overproduction, mass production, and then, you know, all the landfills which, and even the fabrics, you know, people are not using biodegradable fabrics all the Time. They're like polyesters and nylons, which are not really the best for the planet. So that's how, like, customization is really playing an important role. Like, that's like, you know, our slow fashion. That's a form of slow fashion as well. You get, like, you know, measured and you get clothing made for yourself. Just how it used to happen in the 1920s and 30s. You know, Coco Chanel, she started customization. This is how, like, you know, that's how everything begun. And I think now people are just going back to what it originally was. And yeah, I have so many clients now who really want to get custom made prom dresses and, you know, suits and blazers and wedding dresses. You know, like, so, so many different, like, ideas and references people have. You know, somebody will just come to me with like, such an elaborate and a beautiful dress, which they cannot afford, like, you know, because it's from a very big designer and like $5,000, $10,000. So I, I don't try to replicate. Replicate, of course, because that would not be me then, but I just give them a different take on how this outfit can be similarly made for them and, you know, at a budget friendly price. And. Yeah, so that's amazing.
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Jackie Zook
Amazing. And then from like start to finish, how long does the process, like, actually take?
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Megha Patil
So ideally, like, you know, when it's, it's like, say for the first time, if somebody's coming to me, I need to go meet them, measure them, you know, and after that, like, I show them fabrics, I have different fabric samples with me, or if they cannot meet me, you know, personally, I can send them fabric samples over or I can send them images if they're okay to, they're okay to trust me, like, you know, with my fabric choices. And then after the measurement and stuff, it doesn't take more than like, one month. I would say. Yeah, 30 days to 45 days. Because I always like to combine. Because, you know, if, if I'm calling myself a sustainable brand, I don't just ship everything individually. I try to combine some orders together and that, that's how, like, you know, I can divide the shipping cost as well. And there's not, not a lot of footprint then, which I'm leaving behind. So, yeah, so I would say 30 to 45 days is an average time frame.
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Jackie Zook
Oh, that's really insightful. And then also, when we had met, you were showing me these beautiful imprints you're doing now with flowers.
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Megha Patil
Yeah.
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Jackie Zook
Are you open to talking about that briefly? They're just so beautiful.
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Megha Patil
Yeah. So, so, like, you know, there's this watercolor art which I did during Pandemic, and it's like the dearest to my heart. I don't know, I just have a very warm feeling for it and it's in my living room and it's a wallpaper of my phone and it's just been there since so many years, you know, and now I'm like translating that watercolor art onto a fabric and then I'm making some beautiful pieces of that fabric now.
- [14:16]
Jackie Zook
Amazing. Like, if you haven't seen Mega's designs, you need to. I will put all the links in the post of the podcast. All the things. You are just so amazing. And so now this summer, you're going back to women's wear, which is so exciting. Like resort wear. Like throw it over the bathing suit. I love the, oh, am I frozen? At least you can hear me. The comfortable, casual, like, I just love it. And they're very neutral. So can you talk about the inspiration behind that as well?
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Megha Patil
Yeah. So, you know, the inspiration behind that was like whenever I visited beach, like I'm, I'm a beach person. Even if I don't go in the water, I just love to linger around the beach, you know, So I used to see people, okay, just, you know, those basic cover ups, like all the time. And some people are still not confident or comfortable in this, those kind of COVID ups, you know, or even my friends, they just throw a T shirt on. And I, I feel if you're at a beach, you need to look glamorous and sex and, you know, and pretty at the same time. So that's why I thought of making something but with sustainable fabric again. But I'm using 100 cotton and I'm using a very interesting fabric which is made from the bark of a tree. So it's like modal. And so these fabrics I'm combining and I'm just making like, you know, easy if, even if a person who's 20 year old can throw it over a bikini and a person who's 85 year old can throw it over a bikini and still, you know, walk into a restaurant or somewhere looking confident and pretty. So that, that really came to me, you know, when I was working around so many cotton fabrics and I was like, okay, I'm doing tool, I'm doing custom tool. But cotton is like, you know, my first love because I grew up in cotton farms. Like, you know, my family has like these cotton farms and stuff back in India. So I really wanted to do something more closer to my heart.
- [15:57]
Jackie Zook
I love that. I love that so much. So how can everybody follow you, get in touch with you on social media all the things.
- [16:04]
Megha Patil
So I I'm on Instagram with at Happy Lilliput and I have a website which is happylilliput.com but all my cotton stuff and custom stuff is not there. But yes I'm always available on instagram. You can DM me or reach out to my email id which is on my website. Contactappylilliput.com and I would be able to help you and I would love love to custom club.
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Jackie Zook
She means it. She is phenomenal.
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Megha Patil
Mega.
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Jackie Zook
I am frozen again. But you are amazing.
- [16:35]
Megha Patil
Thank you.
- [16:36]
Jackie Zook
Thank you so much for coming on today everybody. Thank you so much for tuning in to becoming nice on scene. Definitely give a give Happy Lily. Put a follow and check out all the amazing things Meg is up to and she will be showcasing her new resort wear at our event. We are excited on June 7th. So stay tuned. Thanks so much. Bye.
- [16:57]
Megha Patil
Thank you Jackie. Bye. Are you next? Follow us at Next on scene Sam.