While you may have a personal style you stick to, you probably aren’t as dedicated as Diana.
“I have always loved wearing kurung Kedah and kebaya to the office and often get compliments from my colleagues,” the entrepreneur shared.
But there weren’t many in the market that suited her preferences, so she resorted to having them custom-tailored. Eventually, the overall cost of buying and commissioning her clothes started adding up.
As a fresh graduate who had just started working, this was a problem.
And that’s when it hit her—she could create her own brand selling comfortable printed baju kurung at an affordable price.
So with a capital of RM10,000, Diana and her husband, Emir, launched Bayu Somerset.
Initially, starting a clothing business was never in the pipeline for Diana.
“My career plan since university has always been to work in a corporation. I have always wanted to be a banker and when I landed my first job, I was very excited to begin my corporate journey,” she shared.
It was at university in Somerset, England that she met her “partner in crime” and now-husband, Emir.
Hailing from an entrepreneurial family, he was exposed to the field from a young age. His family also owned a clothing store in SACC Mall, Shah Alam once upon a time. You might have even caught him helping out at the family business while he worked as a banker back then.
So when the married couple started Bayu Somerset, they leveraged this to their advantage. It became a testing ground for their products before the brand pivoted to the virtual market.
When the brand’s online presence grew big enough, Diana decided to resign in 2021 to fully commit to it, after 4.5 years of working as a banker. Thus, Bayu Somerset officially launched. A year later, Emir quit his full-time job too and joined her.
The pair currently holds the positions of chief creative officer and chief executive officer respectively.
