Nikhil Hedge and Amit Bharadwaj of 6Degree have all the right reasons to rejoice. On April 2, at the Lakme Fashion Week Spring Summer 2016 (for which it is a talent partner), three designers Pratik and Priyanka, Lalit Dalmia and Saroj Jalan will showcase their creations. So what is 6Degree? “6Degree is a talent platform for fashion professionals,” states Nikhil. The fashion start-up works on the theory of ‘Six degrees of separation’, that everyone is within six or fewer steps away. “We set out to employ that theory in fashion. If you want to meet US president Barack Obama, all you need is six people; six mutual connections to Barack Obama,” points out Nikhil. The team set out to employ this theory to fill many gaps they found in the fashion industry.
When they first met in Hyderabad, Nikhil and Amit were working as a consultant and product manager respectively. When Amit’s wife, a product designer faced some challenges in expanding her brand, the duo stepped in. “When we understood the issues, we realised that the problem is not just with her but people across the industry,” recalls Nikhil. This prompted them to do a national survey and come up with a single, common platform where the fashion industry can operate. The start-up was launched at the Lakme Fashion Week in August, 2014.
Nikhil points to the fact that the Indian fashion market is growing. “Europe and USA are mature and advanced. India has not reached that stage yet. Also the technology is lacking in India. We are trying to build technology that is easy to understand; easy to relate to and yet helps them grow.”
The platform kept evolving with feedback from industry experts. One of the issues they tackled was reaching out to budding designers. “One of the critical aspects is that there are around 180 fashion weeks in India and 1000 fashion weeks globally. Since we work closely with the fashion fraternity, we can help designers with opportunities to make their brand bigger and create a market for them. We associate as talent partners and help in finding the best fit for fashion weeks.”
So far 6Degree has worked with nearly 20 fashion weeks, including the recent Mysuru Fashion Week. The focus is to reach out to youngsters who want to build their brand but do not have the right access. “Our main target is not the Manish Malhotras and Sabyasachis; they don’t need someone to build the brand. There are about seven lakh fashion designers in India and two lakh students who graduate from fashion colleges every year. About only 20 percent of them are placed in companies. We are here for the remaining students, who have a few years experience but aren’t getting the necessary push; someone seeking to rebrand their entire label,” states Nikhil.
The team helps industry experts and professionals to network. “One can register on the platform and based on your profile, our team helps you to build your own network.”
