How many times have we watched a movie and wished we could look as snazzy as the actor on screen? Maybe wear the same shirt or dress and look just as effortlessly chic? However, being able to lay one’s hand on the exact same design has been a task at most times. This is where Chinmay Rajula and Mamidi Raja step in. The IIIT-H graduates launched Clapone.com, an e-commerce portal that lets people buy the same designs their favourite stars sport in films.
The e-commerce portal >Clapone.com lets clients buy designs that were worn by their favourite actors on screen. The idea struck Chinmay and Raja when the former’s sister wanted a top worn by Samantha in Eega . “It all started when my sister asked me to get her the checkered top Samantha wore in the film. I went to several stores and boutiques but couldn’t find anything even remotely similar. Then I turned to e-commerce stores and filtered my search as per my specifications. Even then I found only a 90 per cent match. The idea to set up a company that supplies the same designs worn by actors took seed then,” recalls Chinmay.
According to Chinmay Clapone started off as an experiment to see how they would be able to discover similar patterns from other e-commerce stores. “We wrote algorithms to find outfits similar to those featured in films. Soon enough, when people began asking us where they could get the exact same outfits like their onscreen idols, we began to manufacture the same designs as well. We began procuring the same fabric and got the outfits stitched as per what is shown in Telugu films,” he explains, adding, “The initial response was pretty good. People were very excited about being able to get clothes like those worn by their favourite stars.”
With the firm belief that fashion in India is inspired by the movies, Chinmay and Raja now make the clothes and retail them on their website. “We have tied up with a few prominent Telugu film producers and recreate the outfits they showcase in their films. If we don’t find an identical or similar fabric in the market then we have it made; right from the yarn to the prints and weaves,” he says. While Chinmay handles the business end of the start-up, Raja focuses on the technological aspects that include coding and architecture of the site.
But for engineering graduates to diversify and plunge headlong into the world of fashion was no mean feat. “From having no inkling of fabrics and styles to now being able to tell the good from the bad, I’ve come a long way,” says Chinmay, adding, “I spent more than four months travelling to mills and manufacturing units across South India and can safely say that I have a good understanding about fabrics and textures. While the first few months after we launched Clapone was spent coding, I now spend most of my time studying fabrics and designs. In fact, I can no longer watch a movie and enjoy it. My entire focus is on the clothes worn by the actors and I spend most of my time during films trying to analyse which outfit will sell and which one won’t.”
Of course, convincing their families to repose faith in their start-up endeavour was not easy either. “My parents found it very hard to believe that I would be willing to throw away a career in engineering to sell clothes. My father found it hard to explain the same to acquaintances,” laughs Chinmay. “However, now we are a decent revenue-generating company and pay our bills from the money we generate from sales. Also our team has expanded from two to eight full time and 12 part-time employees. That has helped our families keep their faith in us,” he adds. As of now both Chinmay and Raja are looking to expand their collection of outfits and add more to the women’s section.
