Our Story
Senpai + Kohai was a dream shared between the two of us when we met in college in 2003, which we hoped to bring to life one day. After many years spent working in the corporate world as designers, stylists and sales girls, we both decided it was the perfect time as we had reached a milestone in our career life. Melissa was living and designing in India for UO Inc., while Pia was freelancing as a stylist for clothing brands such as Anthropologie, Free People, Urban Outfitters and David's Bridal. We had both collaborated on a few past projects together and had made several first attempts in starting a clothing line but this time it felt right and we were ready! We spent only three months to produce the first Senpai+Kohai collection in time to launch for holiday of 2012 and came out with twelve one-of-a-kind Indian textile inspired pieces, which we individually handcrafted at home.
Senpai+Kohai is created for women like us, who value dressing as an art form. It is a Japanese term that refers to the balance between the relationship of a mentor and their apprentice. This value is not the sole inspiration we can relate to as colleagues but also something we apply to our work, being inspired from what we have learned from the past and applying it to our modern world.
