Gurjit Manhas, an elementary school teacher from Toronto, Canada, experienced a tough upbringing. Hailing from an Indo-Canadian immigrant family, growing up she did not get to experience a lot of joys that childhood had to offer.
“There was a lot I was deprived of growing up. My clothes were mostly hand-me downs from my male cousins, I didn’t have a lot to play with and most of my toys were other kids’ lost and abandoned ones that my dad or grandma would bring home. I learned early on to not ask for much after being turned down enough times. Instead, I would delve deep into books from school as an escape. My parents struggled to make ends meet so what I wanted was shut down early. And unfortunately love was also one of the things that were missing.”
Experiencing severe depression in her teenage years, Gurjit lost purpose in her life and struggled with self-worth. This was a struggle that would follow her into adulthood, right until the birth of her first child, a daughter.
“I went through postpartum depression and had difficulty attaching to my daughter, due to the difficult childhood I had. It’s extremely hard to love another when you don’t love yourself. Whatever little amount of self-value I had built up to that point, after my studies and getting a job, and the bit of freedom that I had finally experienced, was now trumped by another life in my hands. It was hard to reconcile my feelings of missing out on so much independence that I had craved my whole life.”
It was during this time that Gurjit – who now goes by Asiya, due to a change in her faith, discovered online business and brand-building from female entrepreneurs.
“I was greatly intrigued by the concept of creating my own brand and being able to grow it. It was only while I was laying in bed one night that the name Crescentt popped up into my thoughts. At that time, I was big into shapewear so I thought Crescentt Shapewear sounded lovely.” After doing some research, Asiya was pleased to see that Crescentt was in the clear for her own apparel brand.
In the beginning, the motivation was to make some extra money, being a millennial with a lot of financial burdens, but soon Crescentt grew into more of a passion-project as the vision expanded.
“I always held onto my teaching job in the elementary schools, as I absolutely love working with kids, so I had to balance that part of my life with growing my brand, along with being a mother.”
It was during the early stages of her journey into motherhood and creating her brand that Asiya made a discovery about herself that would change the way she would approach her products.
“While I was testing different materials from suppliers, I found myself very much attracted luxurious robes and pajama sets. When I put on a pair of bamboo pajamas for the first time, I had a transformational experience. I absolutely loved the way I looked! They were well-fitted, chic & professional and somehow they gave me a boost of self-confidence, self-love and motivation when I looked in the mirror. And this was so huge to me because I had never put thought into what I was wearing at home, realizing that it was having a negative effect on my mood and feelings about myself. This discovery made me feel like more women needed to know about this – the power of dressing well at home to improve mental health. And that became the mission of Crescentt as it is now.”
Crescentt focuses on ‘feel-good products’ for women. Women empowerment and mental health awareness is at the forefront. Crescentt wants women to focus more on taking care of themselves at home with outfits that look and feel good. They believe that self-love is rooted in self-care and that women ought to pamper themselves more at home. Crescentt’s products are breathable, super soft and luxurious. The brand also prioritises ethical sourcing and sustainability.
“In schools today, sustainability is a huge topic. We are always talking about environmental issues and protecting the planet. Fast fashion is hugely damaging, so with my brand Crescentt, we really want to keep it minimalistic and responsible so we only focus on sourcing high-quality products that customers have shown love for and appreciate. And we are working very hard to be eco-friendly and sustainable in production and the materials we use.”
Presently, Crescentt’s products can be purchased on their website Crescentt.com. They have a curated selection of shapewear, loungewear and outerwear, all products that have been made responsibly and with customer feedback. Customer satisfaction is a priority for the brand and it shows, with hundreds of 5-star reviews on Crescentt’s collections.
Asiya continues to balance being a teacher, female entrepreneur, and most importantly, a good mother, to her now two- little girls.
About the brand: Crescentt is a brand of Feel-Good Products for women, run by women, founded by an Indo-Canadian elementary school teacher named Asiya. Asiya aims to offer apparel items that are highly curated, minimalistic and made of eco-friendly and sustainable materials while being cruelty-free. The brand is anti fast-fashion and focuses on serving customers with their motto “Quality, Comfort, Beauty”.
