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This German-born ‘Tamil ponnu’ builds style for Indian ladies

Jacqueline Kapur dons many hats – entrepreneur, clothier, equestrian sportsperson, restaurateur, and mom. She is now well-known as the founder of Ayesha Accessories, a modern fashion logo for younger ladies. However, one of the very few ladies solo-marketers in the united states isn’t Jacqueline’s most straightforward claim to fame. Her relationship with India itself is unique.

Born and brought up in Germany, Jacqueline moved to Puducherry in 1989 with her then-boyfriend Dilip Kapur, who later founded lifestyle emblem Hidesign. She studied Japanese at the University of Bochum and the Japanese Language Institute in Tokyo, Japan.

Fashion

After getting married to Dilip, Jacqueline changed into instrumental in starting Hidesign’s garment division and oversaw and designed jackets. In 1999, Jacqueline opened Casablanca, considered one of India’s first multi logo department stores. In 2000, she began ‘Titanic,’ a garment outlet in Puducherry that houses European styles at lower priced expenses.

Having made Puducherry her domestic, Jacqueline calls herself a ‘Tamil point.’ She lives with five puppies, 15 cats, and 26 horses on the Red Earth Riding School, which she hooked up in 2000 with some friends. In her fifties, Jacqueline also runs a BnB guest house, ‘The Black Box, ’ fabricated from recycled transport packing containers and opened a 50-seater informal eating bistro in Puducherry called ‘PY Love (in image) Café.’ She has personally designed it with the use of recycled fixtures and mirrors.

In the last decade, Ayesha has multiplied to dozens of shops across the tier one cities of the country. Being a ‘girl entrepreneur’ has not discouraged Jacqueline. She says, “I am frequently perceived as an interloper, but I even have always felt welcomed. But I assume ladies are but to take over fundamental roles in Indian personnel. Watch the video for more insights from Jacqueline: After her divorce in 2016, Jacqueline tells YourStory, there has been a stoop in business for a short period.

Now, Ayesha is lower back to its first-class mode and received an invitation to amplify its operations inside the Middle East. To expand similarly, Ayesha is in talks with outside buyers for investment. Jacqueline’s son Milan, 27, works abroad. Jacqueline’s daughter Ayesha, who performed the protagonist Michelle McNally (Rani Mukherjee’s adolescence) inside the Bollywood movie Black in 2000, is a companion in the firm named after her. The 24-year-antique is now a student at Columbia University.

Deborah Williams
Snowboarder, foodie, ukulelist, vintage furniture lover and identity designer. Making at the intersection of minimalism and mathematics to create strong, lasting and remarkable design. I work with Fortune 500 companies and startups. Award-winning beer geek. Twitter fan. Social media scholar. Incurable travel advocate. Alcohol expert.