Sonam Subba Limbu, a biomedical engineer by training, discovered his love for fashion designing when the products he made during his free time began selling well. 

The 28-year-old, now on a mission to build a self-made, environmentally-conscious, and socially-impactful fashion brand, always wanted to do a business that reflected his love for the creative arts. 

“I used to work full time at a hospital before,” says Subba. “In the limited free time I had after work, I experimented with designs in my head and if they turned out good, I sold them.” 

With his life-long love for designs of all kinds, Subba started stitching by watching Youtube tutorials and experimenting. “I never took any fashion design course—it never crossed my mind,” he says. “What helped me grow was the thought of bringing my designs to life and learning from my mistakes. With every attempt, my love for threads and needles only grew.” 

At 25, after getting a wonderful response from his clients—at a time he sold only one or two products a month—he finally decided to upscale. He opened a small studio at Golfutar, Budhanilkantha, and built a team. Then, the pandemic hit. 

“Initially, it was a struggle but we kept working and my business started growing as more and more orders started flowing in online,” Subba recalls. 

Named after the creator, ‘Sonam Subba Limbu’ is a brand that makes handmade designer wears, focusing on gowns, bridal and occasional wears along with suit and daura suruwal for men. 

“When it comes to my designs, my forte is playing around and working with different stones and embroidery,” Subba says. Recently, his team started designing gowns and dresses for beauty pageants. He does the designing and sketching and then works with his team to turn them into garments. 

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Subba intends to build an environmentally conscious business. All the waste produced in the making of garments is recycled to create masks, pouches, hair bands, beads, and latkans. According to the 2020 Preferred Fiber and Materials Market Report, worldwide, only a third of the produced textile fabric gets reused while the rest goes to waste. 

Subba is an advocate for zero-waste, as all waste can be recycled one way or the other. The stuff that he cannot recycle are given to factories that turn them into cotton for mattresses. He believes that if every business finds a way to minimize their waste, the overall pollution footprint of companies will be greatly reduced. 

He also wants to create part-time opportunities for students. “There are only a few platforms that are student-friendly,” he acknowledges. He trains students, especially those from poor and marginalized families, so they can work to sustain their studies.   

With his environmentally-conscious and socially-impactful business, Subba aims to create a ripple effect by inspiring and encouraging other businesses. The customers, too, are more than happy to be a part of a good cause, and the number of returning customers is only increasing. 

“Just being engaged in the creative field and advocating what I believe in—I get the energy to keep doing what I do,” Subba says. 

He now plans to open a brick-and-mortar outlet. The brand is also looking for more resources and manpower to train more youths. Moreover, he is working to build a platform where garment waste from households can be collected and upcycled. 

“If you have a dream of building a business, there are resources, and people are willing to help,” Subba says. “I changed from being a biomedical engineer to a fashion designer. If I can do it, so can you.”