By Julia Oudiz
Online Features Editor
Mira Costa alumnus Amrit Randeniya is beginning to sew the seams to his first clothing company.
Randeniya’s brand name, Otrou, means “only the real ones understand.” His brand stands for staying true to oneself and revolves around the fact that people shouldn’t be afraid of others’ opinions, he says. He will start out his company by selling oversized and vintage t-shirts that he designs.
Photos: Randeniya begins to create a clothing company to promote staying true to oneself
“Today, a lot of people aren’t true to themselves,” Randeniya said. “They look for approval all the time and they just want to fit in, and they don’t focus on improving themselves as an individual. When people wear my clothes I want them to feel good about themselves. By wearing what I’m giving them, it will hopefully make them feel better about themselves, look good and be an overall better individual.”
Link: Visit Randeniya’s Instagram account, @thelifeofamrit
Randeniya came up with the idea to create a clothing company in May of his senior year at Costa. He became interested in fashion when he began to go to big fashion districts, such as Fairfax, where he then came up with the idea to sell clothes, he says.
“I would see all these people go crazy for them, and I thought, why can’t I give something that I could share my thoughts [with] and create something cool that people would like, just like other clothing companies are doing,” Randeniya said.
Link: Read more about Costa students with clothing lines
Randeniya’s dad is in the screen printing business, so he has connections with people who sell fabric and make patterns, helping him with starting his clothes business. His dad was one of his main inspirations to start a clothing line because he saw the opportunity of several resources, he says.
“I thought that I could use a lot of the resources my dad has to help me with my clothes,” Randeniya said. “In the beginning stages I was thinking, do I really want to do this? Then, I thought that my dad knows all these people that I could use and I would have the resources to do what I wanted to do.”
Randeniya is planning to create an online site to sell his clothing, and he expects the majority of his buyers to be young adults. In the future, after opening his online store, he hopes to create a physical shop to sell his clothes.
“The goal is to hopefully do collaborations, but I’m just making shirts right now,” Randeniya said. “I have definitely thought about taking a minor in something fashion-related.”
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