An Interview with Amit Mathur, COO of VIRGIO

An Unique Interview with Mr. Amit Mathur, COO of VIRGIO, a sustainable fashion-tech model

In an period the place sustainability and know-how redefine industries, VIRGIO stands on the forefront of trend innovation.

We sat down with Mr. Amit Mathur, COO of VIRGIO, to debate how the model is revolutionizing sustainable trend by means of cutting-edge tech, aware practices, and a imaginative and prescient to remodel client engagement with greener selections.

How are you leveraging your management expertise to drive progress, streamline operations, and form the tradition at VIRGIO immediately?

Amit Mathur: My expertise throughout Myntra, Jabong, and Ola has formed how I take into consideration constructing VIRGIO’s spine. In e-commerce, I noticed how overproduction led to huge unsold stock throughout manufacturers.

As a founding crew member right here, that pushed me to deal with marrying demand forecasting with an agile provide chain. At present, we solely produce minimal MOQs- what’s almost certainly to be purchased and worn, chopping waste whereas driving progress responsibly.

At Ola, I realized the significance of velocity and adaptability in operations. That’s why at VIRGIO we’ve constructed a distributed sourcing mannequin with Sedex-certified companions, permitting us to reply shortly to demand whereas conserving moral compliance non-negotiable.

Culturally, I’ve carried ahead one other key lesson: nice corporations are constructed when individuals really feel possession. At VIRGIO, we’ve moved away from silos. As a substitute, we run cross-functional squads the place a designer, an engineer, and a advertising and marketing knowledgeable co-own the identical transient.

It makes concepts sharper, execution quicker, and accountability shared. This mix of agile techniques, accountable sourcing, and collaborative tradition is how I’m making use of my management journey to form VIRGIO immediately.

VIRGIO positions itself as a sustainable fashion-tech model. In your view, how does “fashion-tech” really remodel the sustainability dialog in attire?

Amit Mathur: Style-tech adjustments sustainability from being an afterthought to being constructed into the system. In conventional trend, manufacturing was pushed by intuition or seasonal bets which regularly led to overproduction and waste. At VIRGIO, know-how flips that mannequin.

As an illustration, our AI-led demand forecasting helps us perceive what types clients are possible to purchase, so we design and produce accordingly.

Our digital product passports, accessed by means of QR codes on each garment, convey end-to-end transparency, exhibiting the water, carbon, and vitality footprint of every piece. And our use of 3D prototyping permits designers to create and refine types nearly earlier than a single pattern is made, chopping down cloth wastage.

To me, that’s the place fashion-tech makes the distinction, it ensures sustainability isn’t just a advertising and marketing declare however a measurable, traceable a part of the shopper expertise.

How do you see know-how—AI, information analytics, provide chain automation—enjoying a job in decreasing waste and enabling round trend?

Amit Mathur: Know-how is the important thing to shifting trend away from overproduction and in the direction of sustainability. At VIRGIO, AI helps us forecast demand with far better accuracy, so we don’t produce types that can sit unsold in warehouses.

Information analytics give us perception into buyer habits, from what they return to the merchandise that they’ve visited a number of occasions, which shapes how we design for sturdiness and luxury.

On the availability chain facet, automation permits us to fabricate in smaller, extra agile batches as a substitute of bulk runs.

That reduces each materials waste and the chance of markdowns. Equally vital is traceability: each VIRGIO piece comes with a digital product passport that captures its footprint and journey. Tomorrow, that very same passport can information its subsequent life whether or not it’s resold, recycled, or upcycled.

In brief, know-how doesn’t simply cut back waste; it permits us to design techniques the place each garment has a future past its first put on.

VIRGIO operates on the overlap of trend and tech. How do you foster collaboration between designers, engineers, and sustainability specialists?

Amit Mathur: At VIRGIO, we’ve realized that true innovation occurs when creativity, know-how, and accountability meet on the identical desk. That’s why we’ve moved away from the previous linear setup the place design fingers over to manufacturing, which then fingers over to advertising and marketing.

As a substitute, we’ve constructed cross-functional squads the place a designer, an engineer, and a sustainability knowledgeable co-own the identical transient from day one.

For instance, when our designers suggest a brand new silhouette, our engineers take a look at its feasibility by means of 3D prototyping whereas sustainability specialists consider its materials impression.

This early collaboration means fewer bodily samples, quicker go-to-market, and clothes that steadiness development with conscience.

We additionally maintain ‘design-tech sprints,’ the place groups brainstorm utilizing information to encourage design and design to push tech options. It’s this tradition of shared possession that retains VIRGIO agile and ensures that no resolution is made in isolation.         

What main shifts do you anticipate within the Indian and international fashion-tech trade over the following 5–10 years?

Amit Mathur: I see three huge shifts reshaping the trade. First, circularity will go mainstream. At present, resale, rental, and recycling are seen as facet classes. Within the subsequent decade, they’ll be a part of each main trend enterprise mannequin.

At VIRGIO, we’re already laying the groundwork with upcycled collections and digital passports that may ultimately plug into resale and recycling ecosystems.

Second, digital-first design will turn into the norm. With 3D prototyping, digital fittings, and AI-led design help, AI-led cataloguing manufacturers will dramatically cut back bodily sampling and reduce wastage. For us, this has already meant sharper design cycles and quicker time to market.

And third, radical transparency will probably be non-negotiable. Shoppers will demand to know the complete journey of what they put on who made it, the footprint it carries, and the place it goes after. Rules like Europe’s Digital Product Passport will make this necessary, and India will comply with.

In brief, the way forward for fashion-tech isn’t nearly velocity or development, it’s about closing the loop, decreasing waste, and giving shoppers visibility like by no means earlier than.

Do you consider India can emerge as a worldwide hub for sustainable fashion-tech innovation? What might speed up that journey?

Amit Mathur: Completely. India is uniquely positioned to guide this shift. We’ve got two unmatched strengths: a centuries-old legacy in textiles and craftsmanship, and one of many world’s most dynamic know-how expertise swimming pools. When you mix these, you have already got the elements for sustainable fashion-tech management.

At VIRGIO, we see this day-after-day utilizing AI and information analytics to forecast developments whereas additionally working with artisanal communities for our Heritage line. That mix of tech precision and cultural richness is one thing only a few markets can replicate.

What is going to speed up the journey is threefold: stronger funding in inexperienced infrastructure, regulatory help that rewards sustainable practices, and better client consciousness round aware selections.

If these items come collectively, India can’t solely provide the world with sustainable trend but in addition set the benchmarks for the way it’s designed, made, and scaled responsibly.

VIRGIO is constructing for scale. How do you see it increasing—new markets, new product classes, or technology-first initiatives?

Amit Mathur: For us, scale isn’t nearly doing extra, it’s about doing it responsibly. We’re increasing throughout three fronts concurrently.

On product classes, we began with womenswear and we’ve already diversified into plus-size with ‘Past the Curves,’ and way of life extensions like perfume referred to as Amodira. Every new class is designed with the identical sustainability-first DNA.

On markets, whereas India stays our dwelling floor, we’re making ready for selective worldwide entry, particularly markets the place shoppers are already asking powerful questions on sustainability and transparency.

And eventually, on know-how, we’re doubling down on initiatives that permit us scale with out dropping efficiency- AI-led demand forecasting, automation within the provide chain, and digital product passports that make each garment traceable. These make sure that progress by no means comes at the price of conscience.

So, it’s not an both/or, it’s a scale journey constructed on the intersection of latest markets, new classes, and technology-first improvements.

When you needed to share one piece of recommendation for professionals in trend, tech, or sustainability, what wouldn’t it be?

Amit Mathur: My recommendation could be: don’t work in silos. Style, tech, and sustainability can’t remedy issues in isolation, the true breakthroughs occur after they intersect.

At VIRGIO, a few of our greatest concepts have come not from designers alone or engineers alone, however when the 2 sat along with a sustainability knowledgeable within the room.

So whether or not you’re coding an algorithm, sketching a silhouette, or evaluating a cloth, at all times ask: how does this join with the larger image? When you keep curious, collaborate extensively, and maintain the planet within the equation, your work will naturally be future-ready.

With expertise at Myntra, Ola, and VMware, how have you ever leveraged expertise acquisition and organizational growth to construct a high-performance tradition at VIRGIO?

Amit Mathur: One lesson I’ve carried from each cease in my journey whether or not at Myntra, Ola, or VMware — is that tradition isn’t constructed by likelihood, it’s constructed by design. At VIRGIO, we’ve been intentional about two issues: who we rent and the way we empower them.

On hiring, we glance past résumés. I noticed how fast-moving groups thrived when individuals have been adaptable and collaborative, not simply technically expert. So at VIRGIO, we deal with mindset- curiosity, possession, and a dedication to sustainability are as vital as useful experience.

On growth, my time at Ola taught me the worth of readability in chaos. Startups transfer quick, however individuals carry out greatest after they know what success seems like. That’s why at VIRGIO we set clear objectives, maintain suggestions cycles brief, and encourage cross-functional squads to personal outcomes collectively.

The result’s a tradition the place individuals don’t simply execute duties, they remedy issues, problem assumptions, and really feel accountable for shaping the way forward for trend. That, to me, is what defines a high-performance crew.

What challenges and alternatives have you ever confronted in aligning operational excellence with sustainability objectives at VIRGIO?

Amit Mathur: The largest problem is notion. Many assume sustainability slows you down or makes operations costlier. In actuality, it forces self-discipline and that self-discipline unlocks effectivity.

As an illustration, limiting ourselves to minimal MOQs means tighter planning and sharper forecasting, which was powerful at first however has now lowered each waste and dealing capital stress.

One other problem is constructing a associate ecosystem that shares our values. Not each provider is able to put money into certifications or traceability. However by setting clear expectations and dealing carefully with Sedex-certified companions, we’ve turned that into a chance to lift the bar for the whole worth chain.

The alternatives are immense. For me, operational excellence and sustainability are not two parallel objectives, they’re more and more the identical path ahead.

Mr. Mathur’s insights spotlight VIRGIO’s mission to make sustainability modern, accessible, and future-ready.

By mixing know-how with accountability, VIRGIO proves that model and sustainability can coexist. His imaginative and prescient displays a bigger shift within the trend trade—in the direction of purposeful progress, moral practices, and innovation that evokes a brand new era of aware shoppers.

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