What do you call a would-be doctor with a passion for fashion? In the case of Indu Arora, a successful entrepreneur. 

Arora, a Cupertino-based entrepreneur and fashion designer, has always been interested fashion—the aesthetics, the artistry, the raw materials—but said there were few opportunities to pursue fashion as a career in Chattisgarh, a state in central India.

“Back then, back there we didn’t have the amenities to pursue fashion designing. People did not consider [fashion designing] a career.”

So, Arora enrolled in a medical college. Then, in 1998, on a trip to visit her brother in Mumbai, she met the man who would become her husband.

After their wedding, Arora and her husband came to the United States, and then to Cupertino, where the couple now lives and works.

Since then, she has delivered consistent, well-received designs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and on her website, Rockchiq.com, named after her label of original designs. 

She also started Pinkweave.com, an online boutique that carries her pieces and the work of other independent, or "indie" designers, both from the United States and abroad.

Five years ago, Arora registered her company, Indu Fashions, in Cupertino. Since then, she has raised enough capital to design full collections each spring and autumn.

“I was very inspired by Sex and the City. I saw that and I was so excited. I just wanted to indulge myself.”

Arora latched on to the opportunity to start over and pursue her love for fashion.

“[The] United States is the land of opportunity; I could change my passion.“

She started small, freelancing as a sketch designer for clients here and there. Eventually, she got a call to help a small company execute a denim order—150 pieces in three designs.

They thought that she had contacts for textile manufacturers in India, and she did. It was her first foray outside of sketching.

“It was great for me. I thought I can do more than just sketching and taking on smaller projects.”

Since 1998, Arora has grown steadily as a designer.  She has shown consistently, and last year her collection, 28 original designs, was shown at an event in San Francisco.  Her designs are sold throughout the Bay Area, including at Isabella Boutique in Sunnyvale.

Her design aesthetic, inspired by architectural shapes, the bright colors of her homeland, and by her own daily life, is perfect for retailers like Rose Marie Osario, who owns Isabella Boutique.

Becky Davis, Osario’s friend and helper at the boutique, said Osario focuses on offering fun, chic looks that showcase innovative design. She likes to pick pieces that have a story, Davis said, and Arora’s designs have sold well there.

“I’m still in the process of making myself a well established designer,” Arora said. “I’ve always been interested [in fashion] playing with fabric and sketching. It’s thrilling.”