From Finance to Fashion: Meet Annu Gyani, Founder of Scarf Brand, Shawlux

Shawlux is a New York City-based scarf and shawl brand by Annu Gyani, second generation Indian-American.

[Photo Courtesy: Annu Gyani]

ShawLux—a luxury design and manufacturing company for scarves, wraps, and shawls— was founded by Annu Gyani, a second-generation Punjabi-American. ShawLux specializes in digital printing on various fabrics utilizing photographs and original artwork from around the world. The line focuses trends combined with high-end fabrics.

Speaking about her upbringing, Gyani said her parents had a huge influence on her career choices. Her father owned a fabric store so she spent most of her summers and weekends there. Gyani said it was like a second home and was the foundation for her entrepreneurial and sales roots. Her mother was a huge influence on her personal aesthetic.

“She was always making new outfits from old ones, adding details such as patches and buttons,” Gyani said. “She made things unique and her own.”

Gyani went to NYU for finance, and after college, she worked as a mortgage banker for seven years. When her company went under in 2008 due to the mortgage crisis, instead of looking for another finance job, she decided to strike out on her own and pursue her passion of running a fashion brand. She says her foundation in finance helped her run her own business.

“You can sell mortgages, securities, or scarves,” Gyani said. “It is about how you connect with someone and gain trust and credibility.”

Running a fashion business is not all creating and searching for inspiration. Running a fashion brand, like any other business, requires knowledge of how to launch and manage a successful business. Most successful designers are not just good designers, but also good business people.

After leaving finance, Gyani spent months traveling India researching fabrics and textiles. Back in the United States, when Gyani  was starting the business, she had a limited budget. At the start, Gyani’s goal was to create a sample collection that didn’t require sizing. Shawls were easy to produce because of this.Gyani  used her love of the elegance of Indian shawls combined with inspiration from cold New York City winters to create her first line of shawls. Thus, Shawlux was born.

Shawlux’s aesthetic started out having tangible Indian roots.

“There are an abundance of rich fabrics and brilliant artists in India,” Gyani said. “I wanted to share their work with the world while considering the needs of today’s modern woman.”

As Gyani’s digital prints became popular, that was the direction that Shawlux headed in. Now she is coming up with designs that are inspired by India. She has a line of shawls that utilize the Indian technique of phulkari. Phulkari is an old technique that was used in India to embroidery shawls, bedspreads, and other pieces for a bride’s trousseau. Phulkari literally means embroidery of flowers.

Gyani hopes to create a niche market with unique customers. Although she has already built a fan base for her digital print scarves, she has found a new customer base with those who love the phulkari embroidery shawls. She plans to have the brand always focus on authenticity and high-quality fabrics.

[Photo Courtesy: Annu Gyani]

As far as expanding goes, Gyani wants Shawlux to be known as a lifestyle company. She had a client that is an interior designer that used Shawlux digital prints of cityscapes to upholster dining room chairs. Gyani loved the idea and realized that she could grow Shawlux within her current target demographic into a company that creates home accents using her designs that have already been popular. She plans to add home accents, such as decorative pillows, runners, and mats.

Gyani said her most valuable experiences have been learning to stay humble and strong.

“A lot of people will tell you it is a bad idea or discourage you,” Gyani said, “but if you believe in it, don’t give up. Pray and work hard. It will happen.  I am still doing that every day. I am so thankful for my family, cousins, and friends who have supported me, guided me and put up with me on those hectic production trips.  The whole adventure has been a blessing.”

Shawlux has come a long way from Gyani’s first collection. Her scarves have sold in stores like Anthropologie and Barney’s, and we look forward to many more.