Thread Talk is a series venturing into a designer’s inner workings and thoughts. Today, we have Dahlia Nadirah, the owner of the fashion brand Gempikta—started as a side project—that fuses traditional elements into casual wear, alongside her cosmetic business SO.LEK.
With luxury players like Prada dipping into the cosmetic pool and Stella McCartney venturing into skincare, beauty is the playground for fashion brands. For Dahlia Nadirah, however, it’s the other way around. Founder of SO.LEK, a crowd-favourite halal-certified local cosmetics brand in Malaysia, Dahlia started her fashion brand Gempikat, during the pandemic as a side hustle, in her own words, a “syok-sendiri” project to distract herself from the challenging period.
As an entrepreneur who is also an ardent advocate for all things Malaysian, Dahlia is known among her peers as a fervent supporter of the local scene. She is one of the many contributors to building a healthy environment for those under her. Instead of treating them as rivals, healthy competition cultivates growth. For Gempikat, she places her pride in heritage wear at the forefront. Be it the designs for each collection or marketing decisions, the founder ensures that the brand is synonymous with local pride. “We aim to, one day, make wearing traditional Malaysian pieces a trend,” she explains.
Has fashion always been something you envision yourself doing? What led to the decision to start a fashion brand?
I have loved fashion for as long as I can remember. I remember dressing myself when I was young. As a child, I was very particular with the brands I had in my closet, which gave my parents headaches! It took me a while to start my own brand. It’s not a decision that can be made heedlessly—loving fashion is one thing, and running a brand is another.
I have a cosmetics brand, SO.LEK to begin with. We weren’t doing so well during the pandemic and makeup was at the back of everyone’s mind. Gempikat was born as a side hustle, a backup plan, a “syok-sendiri” side project for me to ease my itch to create and get out of the idle state.
How is running a beauty business different from a fashion one?
It’s rather similar, yet different in so many ways. After all, both are such distinct fields. The brainstorming, researching, sourcing, and planning parts are somewhat similar for both, except that for beauty we have to take the expiration dates of all the items into consideration. That said, we have to make sure everything is sold before the expiry date. Like fashion, beauty too has trends to keep up with, like lip oils and blushes in bullet form. With beauty, creativity is very much needed especially since we are an online-based brand with no physical store. Last but not least, beauty products need approval from government bodies like the KKM and NPRA. We need to be responsible for ensuring the ingredients are safe for consumers.
Can you walk us through the process of launching a full Gempikat collection?
To be honest, it usually starts with me being inspired at night, then I would walk into the office the next day and announce, “Okay, I want a kaftan collection by the end of the month!” (laughs) Jokes aside, I’d come up with a mood board and follow with a brainstorming session with my team so we can decide how to shape these ideas with our tone. We’ll proceed with fabric sourcing and communicating with our tailor. The production usually takes up to a month or so to be completed. In the meantime, we will work on the cost, set the retail price, and get the marketing materials prepped.
How would you encourage locals to get into something like Gempikat pieces? How would you say Gempikat has kept up with the trend, or alternatively, set a trend?
To be honest, Gempikat is still a baby and we are learning and at the same time, we’re trying our best to “spread” the knowledge we have when it comes to local tradition. I’d make sure that there’s a local or traditional twist in every collection, either in design or marketing. We aim to one day make wearing traditional Malaysian pieces a trend. Corporate style, for example, or even evening wear using batik, tenun or songket, can be done in a sophisticated way too.
As a local brand, how far do you think the industry has come since you first started?
I started nine years ago with SO.LEK and it has changed tremendously. It’s thanks to platforms like TikTok and Shopee, where everyone can sell everything.
It has many pros and cons, but I’d like to focus on the pros: one of the many includes the surge in awareness and the love for local brands, which makes me feel incredibly proud! Nine years ago, a huge chunk of people in Malaysia were sceptical about local brands, let alone wearing and supporting local businesses. Whatever we have now is truly a milestone and it has been amazing to witness this growth in our local scene. I hope the local industry will continue to grow and prosper. I also hope the authorities will continue assisting local businesses in achieving global recognition!
What do you think you would do differently with Gempikat if given the opportunity?
Gempikat is still at a learning stage where we are learning and discovering different things every single day. At this very moment, there’s no need for significant changes, but I do wish we had done more marketing planning and create more engaging materials that would help us in reaching more audiences, both locally and internationally.
Looking back, what was your biggest challenge?
MCO! The pandemic was the biggest challenge, not only for us but for everyone else too, I believe. We were set for bigger things back in 2020, but the world shut down for two whole years. Because of that, we were stuck with millions worth of products with nowhere to go and nobody to sell to. It was insane, but it also became the biggest learning curve for us, for which I’m grateful.
Of all the facets of this business, which takes the utmost priority? Why?
I would say customer service and financial, i.e. cash flow. We live in an era of advanced technology and just one minute mistake could end up with a viral nightmare. This is why it’s so important to take care of your customers and address any issues raised immediately and effectively. As for cash flow, without it, it’s a challenge to survive. Maintaining a healthy cash flow will help to navigate through not only rainy days but also to sustain on normal days.
As you’ve gone through the ups and downs of the game, what’s one of the biggest mistakes you’ve made, and what have you learned from it?
One of the biggest mistakes is not having Plan B and C, especially during the pandemic. In business, you can have a sell-out product a month but barely make 10 sales in the following month. I have learned so much about that and still learning as we speak! I can’t stress enough how important it is to always be prepared for any situation, to manage cash flow and to have backup plans!
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