The Magic of Sarees (the oldest online Facebook group set up in 2010 by sisters, Suneeta Mishra, Atlanta Georgia and Susmita Misra, Gurgaon, India to popularise saree wearing across the globe.

MOS Preloved is a market place exclusively focussed on Preloved sarees, leading the Sustainable Fashion movement one Preloved saree at a time

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    • The parent brand is The Magic of Sarees (the oldest online Facebook group set up in 2010 by sisters, Suneeta Mishra, Atlanta Georgia and Susmita Misra, Gurgaon, India to popularise saree wearing across the globe. The commercial venture, MOS Preloved was founded by Susmita Misra, Founder CEO in 2021 and is a market place(www.magicofsarees.com) and facilitates buying and selling of Preloved sarees
  • Founder’s/Owner’s story and what motivated them to start the business
  • There are two parts to this answer
      • The first being that I am passionate about Preloved, the concept is very close to my heart. Also, by embracing Preloved, you become part of the Sustainable Fashion movement. Clothes get a second chance and write new stories. I have walked this talk all my life, being the younger sibling, I inherited old clothes, books and even the study. Preloved also has more character as it carries a little bit of the previous owner’s personality, memories and experiences. I continue to drape sarees that belong to my mother/sister/friends. At least 30% of my wardrobe comprises preloved sarees (inherited/gifted/begged/borrowed/stolen). 
      • Next, as owner admins of the oldest saree group, we have been privy to a lot of saree stories. Women have often lamented about the surplus sarees they own, talked about sarees that they have loved but no longer find use for and sarees that they are longing to buy and wish they had access to (either way beyond their budget or no longer being woven in its original avatar). 
    • The logical step therefore was to combine the two to create a platform, MOS Preloved, where these sarees could be exchanged, for a fee. Sarees that have been previously owned could find their way to newer homes and continue to be loved. Curating and putting together this collection has been exciting. Almost everyday we onboard new sellers. Women have parted with their much-loved sarees and saree stories in the hope that these sarees find equally loving new owners. The stories involve other people, places, occasions, emotions, all of it bundled into the six yards. Buyers have come from across the country, many are becoming repeat buyers and tending to buy more than one saree at a time.
  • The challenges the business/market is facing
    • The concept of organised Preloved is new to India. We are the only brand exclusive to Preloved sarees. Typically, clothes/sarees get shared within family and friends. The concept has needed a lot of education and selling.
    • In an increasingly cluttered social media world where there are several sellers vying for attention, one needs to work on differentiated content to be able to stand out and maximise on the limited media budgets.
    • Balancing the founder vision with commercial viability is always a challenge and needs innovative approaches and solutions
    • Finding ways to reach out to target groups that may not be on social media.
    • Being able to inspire women who have more sarees than they could wear in a lifetime to sell some of these on MOS Preloved
  • The opportunities the business/market is facing
    • Sustainability as a concept is growing. There is greater need to reuse, repurpose, recycle, upcycle. And thus the perfect time for Preloved as it checks all the boxes. 
    • COVID/lockdown (longer periods at home, job losses) has made people aware of ‘mindless consumerism’. So greater openness to ethical brands, sustainable brands, circular economy. This facilitates adoption of Preloved.
  • We are working towards making people aware/conscious about sensible spending/sustainable fashion- share, gift, donate, sell what you don’t use. Initiatives like concierge services to help with onboarding, education around Preloved, saree care workshops to stretch the life of a saree etc.
  • Advice to others about business
    • Be very sure of what you are getting into. Ideally it should be your Ikigai, the sweet spot or overlap between passion, profession, vocation and mission.
    • Operate with an entrepreneurial and not hobbyist mindset. So, dream big, chalk out a clear path, invest in learning, people and marketing. Keep taking the bar up for yourself and the business. 
    • Be open to feedback and ideas, you may need to park some of them for later but do listen. And be willing to mend, bend, edit, delete as necessary.
    • And don’t give up. Some ideas have longer gestational periods, find ways to be relevant. 

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