Women Who Build Quiet Empires

Some women build empires loudly.

Some build them with fabric swatches, WhatsApp voice notes at midnight, ten tabs open on their Ipad, and a very firm “no” to anything that doesn’t align with their values.

The second kind is far more interesting.

As Women’s Day approaches, we keep thinking about the women who are not just participating in industries, but reshaping them. Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just steadily. Intentionally.

Take sustainable luxury, for instance.

Starting a handbag brand is one thing. Starting one that refuses traditional leather, experiments with fruit-based materials, insists on small-batch production, and chooses ethics over shortcuts? That is a different kind of ambition.

When Anjana Arjun started Sarjaa, it wasn’t about creating “just another handbag.” It was about asking uncomfortable questions. Why does luxury have to mean excess? Why is innovation always framed as risk? Why can’t beauty and responsibility sit at the same table?

Apple waste from the juicing industry became material. Cactus turned into structure. Pineapple fibres transformed into texture. What sounds poetic is actually deeply practical. It is research. Testing. Redesigning. Reworking. Starting over when something does not meet the standard.

That is what building quietly looks like.

It is not glamorous every day. It is persistent.

And then there is the ecosystem around it.

A women-led brand is not just about a woman at the top. It is about the tone of the room. The way production is handled. The way decisions are made. The patience with process. The respect for craft. The understanding that speed is not always success.

Luxury built on ethics feels different because it is different. It is slower. More deliberate. More personal.

There is something incredibly powerful about women who build this way. Not chasing scale for validation. Not diluting values for quick growth. Not bending to what the market expects.

Instead, they create what they believe should exist.

That is a quiet empire.

It does not scream for attention.

It earns loyalty.

It grows roots before branches.

This Women’s Day, we celebrate women who redefine what ambition looks like. Women who build with conscience. Women who choose better materials, better processes, better impact.

Because the future of fashion does not belong to the loudest brands in the room.

It belongs to the ones building something worth carrying.

Love your style, love planet, love Sarjaa.