Gabriella Demetriades: Ã La Mode To those few fashionistas on a quest for something fresh and new, we engaged in conversation with Gabriella Demetriades the Founder and Creative Director of Deme, a brand responsible for nailing half the 'IT' looks this season.

While some of us are busy thinking about good vacation spots to beat the heat and unwind, there are those who have a stronger sense of style and are anticipating the major fashion trends of the coming season. To those few fashionistas on a quest for something fresh and new, we engaged in conversation with Gabriella Demetriades the Founder and Creative Director of Deme, a brand responsible for nailing half the 'IT' looks this season.

Upon enquiring about how the idea of starting a clothing line came about, Demetriades shared, "Most of my early memories are surrounded by creative endeavours like art and knitting and painting and many things which my mom used to do. So I grew up around fabrics and embroidery and my mom studied fashion design and she had a small knitwear label. So I think it was inevitable that it would be the path that I took." "I really thought about it when I was 13-14 years old. I used to have my dresses made by a local tailor or have my mom who also could sew and cut patterns at that stage. We used to ideate and make stuff and I kind of knew all along that I wanted to do it. I just didn't know how and I think that's a problem for a lot of aspiring young creatives. The ideas are always there, but the how? is very difficult," she added.

As for hitting the nail with fitting the current market trend, Deme the label has made quite the mark. Demetriades said, "I think the best way to find out what your customer needs is to listen and to understand. Mostly, see the trends of purchase. It's taken us a long time to do that. And I think as a designer, running a business and designing are two very different things. But as an entrepreneur in the design space, you have to look at both. And you have to give up a little bit when it comes to design and understand what works better for the consumer."

Fashion houses are built on walking the tightrope between creativity and business. Demetriades confessed, "Yes, it does sometimes get a bit hard for somebody that has an extremely creative mind and spirit. You know, to kind of watered down your ideas to make them commercial." "I think we found a very strong DNA with Deme as a brand and what we stand for and the look, feel and aesthetic to the point where I think if you've seen someone wearing something, you can go okay, that's a Deme piece. The DNA of the brand is now very strong, especially seeing we've been doing it for 12 years and had a lot of trial and error as we all do," she explained.

For those eager to have more from the brand Demetriades gladly shared, "We are definitely looking at expanding in terms of opening more retail spots in India and abroad." " We will also be launching menswear, which we are looking at doing at the end of this year. And that will kind of go into accessories and perhaps other lines," she concluded.