Within a year of having raised $37 million at a $160 million valuation, Virgio, a fashion startup set up by former Myntra chief executive Amar Nagaram, is shutting its fast fashion business.
With about $25 million left in the bank, the firm has been eyeing a pivot for the past few months as the venture failed to gain much traction, several sources aware of the matter told ET. In the first year of operation, the startup also saw the exit of senior executives, including Rajesh Narkar, a former vice president of omnichannel, marketplace, and international brands at Myntra.
Virgio is now trying to pivot towards what it’s calling ‘circular fashion’.
Sources said it may have to return the capital to investors if the latest ‘pivot’ doesn’t work.
On October 7, Nagaram posted on LinkedIn saying the venture was at a “crossroads”, with a screenshot of the Virgio app displaying a sign that said” “Sorry we’re closed… the fast fashion brand you’ve come to love is no longer available.”
On Monday, the former Flipkart executive again posted on LinkedIn saying the company was “passionate” about offering consumers fashion that was stylish, accessible and “responsibly” made. “We want to make circular fashion the way of life in India because it is pro-planet and the only way fashion should be. In the last few months, we’ve deconstructed each aspect of what goes into making a garment to make it more circular, more conscious,” Nagaram said in the Monday post.
Nagaram did not immediately reply to a request for comment on why the fast-fashion business was shut.
As opposed to fast fashion, where brands churn out products with new designs and low life cycles in short periods of time, circular fashion focuses on sustainability and extends the lifecycle of products through reuse and recycling, as well as through the conscious choosing of source materials and designs to make this possible.
Virgio had raised $37 million in early-stage funding by the end of 2022, and at the time had said that it would use the funds to invest further in technology and hire more people. The startup had said that it was building a fashion tech platform that would allow designers to access consumer preferences in real time, and cater to the Gen Z and late millennial audience.
