The dream of becoming an entrepreneur is something many of us aspire to, but only a small percentage of the population actually make it a reality. Starting your own business is a huge challenge not everyone is willing to take on when it comes to the crunch – but for some, the pull to take the leap and try something different is just too strong.
From a young age, self-made entrepreneur Didar Singh Chalana – known as DC Singh for short – had a mind eager to learn and eyes filled with dreams, so it was only a matter of time before he dove headfirst into the world of business. Over the years, he has created a name for himself as the brains behind the iconic luxury Edinburgh Cashmere brand, as well as Edinburgh Lambswool, Clans Cashmere, DC Designs and DC Milan.
Not only that, but for the past five years, he has been focusing his attention on the development of healthy fast food, with an exciting new ‘DC Tasty’ franchise in the making and expected to launch in the near future.
But never one to rest on his laurels, DC’s latest business venture has seen him dive head first into the technology sector, working hard behind the scenes to create a mobile taxi app which will see taxi drivers making more money and customers making huge savings as well as being environmentally friendly. It’s an exciting new project set to launch imminently, and could well turn out to be DC’s most lucrative yet. Set to be the first of many new app-related products, he’s remaining tight-lipped about what else we can expect in that respect – but no doubt, all will be revealed before long.
Working with multinational businesses and investors and providing companies and brands with advice on how to develop their businesses to a higher level, so experienced is DC in the entrepreneurial space that he is now using his know-how to help others to see success. But he didn’t arrive at this privileged point in life overnight, and it has taken over fourteen years of hard work, trial and error, and risk-taking to get to where he is today.
It all began back in 2008 when, whilst working as a sales assistant, DC was the first person to recognise that Edinburgh had the largest number of cashmere shops in the world. It was this that sparked his inspiration to create the brand Edinburgh Cashmere, and he wasted no time in bringing his brainwave to fruition.
It took hour upon hour of relentless research and endless time and attention to achieve his goal of becoming one of the top designers, manufacturers and wholesalers of pure cashmere and pure lambswool in the UK and Europe – and only recently, DC has gone on to successfully launch Edinburgh Cashmere in the United Arab Emirates. One of his major accomplishments was to be the first person in the world to produce 110 different clan cashmere scarves – something of which he is understandably very proud.
DC oversees every aspect of his production, from designing through to completion, in his own factory, as well as dealing directly with sustainable cashmere and lambswool farms, ensuring luxury quality and value goes into each and every product. His speciality is his up-to-the-minute designs in Monogram and Jacquard, featuring his DC monogram logo – which have become instantly recognisable to fans of his work, and immensely popular, too.
He also created what he describes as one of the world’s most famous designs – the DC Classic Check. His new 2022 collection of scarves, stoles and capes is set to make waves in the fashion industry over the coming months, and with a quick glance at what is in store, it’s easy to see why.
DC’s passion for quality has allowed him to collaborate with multi-millionaire Italian and French fashion brand companies on a variety of high-profile projects, having recently branched out into supplying premier football clubs with merchandise.
As we said, he certainly isn’t one to rest on his laurels, and when it comes to business, it seems his inspired ideas just keep on coming. He has also gone on to successfully create and launch men’s fashion brand DC Milan menswear, which specialises in jeans, sweatshirts and jackets – and each and every piece is designed and manufactured from scratch by DC himself. Each garment is painstakingly embellished with original, hand finished embroidery, one of which is the iconic Celtic Horse design symbolising winning and victory – something that ensures his work always stands out from the crowd.
DC’s passion for quality and design has, in his words, allowed him to take his companies and brands to international levels in a short time, which rival companies have not achieved in a lifetime. His business acumen and celebrity status have even seen himself and his company’s brands appearing in the likes of prestigious media titles like GQ, Tatler, Grazia and both the UK and USA editions of Vogue.
DC’s hard work and dogged determination have certainly merited him to call himself “the proud owner of his many prosperous businesses”. A true mastermind! And it seems that as far as his business endeavours are concerned, he still has many more aces up his sleeve.
With an exciting year ahead as he continues to branch out from the fashion world into food and technology, his track record means we can expect nothing less than to see big things from DC. And with his new taxi app and healthy fast food franchise likely to be only the tip of the iceberg, we can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.
