July 03 2026
Achla Chandra Shekar: From luxury management in Monaco to bridging Indian craft and global buyers
(Jul 3, 2026) From India to Monaco and the US, Achla Chandra Shekar’s career has crossed luxury branding, ethical fashion and technology. After earning an engineering degree in Bengaluru and a master’s in luxury management in Monaco, she worked with global luxury brands before returning to India to work with artisans, showcase Indian craft in the US and build an AI-powered platform for smarter product discovery.
It was 2013. Millions watched American actor Jennifer Lawrence win the Oscar for Best Actress wearing a Dior gown. For most people, it was another memorable awards night. For Achla, then an engineering student in Bengaluru, it became an unexpected turning point.
It was not just the gown that fascinated her. It was the story surrounding it, the aspiration it represented and the way branding could transform a product into a global cultural moment. She began to realise that branding was far more than advertising. It shaped desire, identity and the way people connected with the world around them. More than a decade later, that curiosity has taken her from engineering classrooms in Bengaluru to luxury management in Monaco, artisan workshops across India, and boutique retail in the United States.
The entrepreneur is the founder of Mṛjā Collective, an ethical fashion platform connecting global buyers with Indian brands. This year she has launched Mukura.ai, an AI-powered discovery platform that helps people and retailers find products that truly fit their needs.
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Engineering was expected but curiosity changed the plan
Born and raised in Bengaluru in a family of Gandhians, Shekar grew up believing in her grandfather’s simple philosophy. “Do good, be good, and good things shall follow.” Engineering was almost a family tradition. Her father and uncles studied at REC, IIT and the Indian Statistical Institute before building careers at organisations including BHEL and HAL. Pursuing Computer Science at PES University therefore felt like the natural path.
Yet another side of her was equally strong. “I was organising events, got elected as student council head, running charity drives and participating in fashion shows. I was always pulling something together. The self-starter instinct was there early. Being the eldest grandchild meant the expectations were high, but so was the support. Some of my closest friends are still the ones I made in those early Bengaluru years. The city gave me much more than an education. It gave me my people,” she shares with The Global Indian.
During her final year, she interned with Bengaluru based khadi label Nature Alley and experienced Karnataka Fashion Week under the mentorship of fashion icon Prasad Bidapa.
That experience made branding tangible. “I had been heading PR and marketing for our college festival and people kept reflecting back that this was where I came alive. After a year in technology after graduation, I knew I did not want to build systems. I wanted to build meaning,” she reflects.
Once she made that decision, Achla researched relentlessly. “I knew I wanted to go to Europe because it is home to many of the world’s great luxury maisons. The International University of Monaco kept appearing at the top of every search. Then I looked at where it was located, between France and Italy, in a principality that lives and breathes luxury. It felt like the perfect place to learn how brands create desire,” she mentions.
Monaco opened the world
If Bengaluru gave her roots, Monaco expanded her horizons. Her classroom brought together students from forty nationalities, and every conversation became an education in culture, communication and perspective. “What I learnt early was to be genuine, voice your thoughts and trust that the right people would find you. Some of those people remain friends for life.
An internship at Relevance, a creative and digital marketing agency soon turned into a full-time role, something she describes as particularly meaningful for an Indian professional entering Monaco’s luxury industry. Working under the Head of Digital, she handled branding and digital strategy for global clients across yachting, luxury real estate, hospitality and private aviation, including the global launch of Engel & Völkers Yachting.
“My work contributed to an estimated $12.5 million in revenue generation for clients,” she says. Her work also exposed her to the cultural subtleties of luxury marketing. “Managing clients across Europe, America and Russia taught me that every audience communicates differently. What builds trust in one market may not work in another.”
Lessons collected across continents
When the pandemic reshaped the workplace, she embraced life as a digital nomad. Consulting assignments took her through Bali, Dubai and Vietnam and several Indian cities including Goa, Mumbai and Rishikesh. Each destination left a lasting impression. Looking for business opportunities, she also travelled across the United States.
Across America I realised that even within one country, communication changes dramatically. Across India, sitting with artisans in their workshops, I found something equally important. The way people communicate changes. The human underneath is remarkably consistent.
Achla Chandra Shekar
The turning point was back home
The second wave of the pandemic brought another shift. She volunteered with India Handmade Collective, helping build its digital infrastructure, strategy and pop-up events while supporting the sale of nearly $40,000 worth of artisan inventory within six months.
“But more than the number, I sat across people making extraordinary things that the world would never see.” That experience became the foundation for Mṛjā Collective, an ethical fashion platform helping global audiences discover independent Indian brands through curated pop-ups and activations across Bengaluru, Goa, Delhi, Kochi and New York.
As she worked with artisans, designers, luxury brands and retailers, one insight kept repeating itself. People did not lack choice. They lacked meaningful discovery. “The real problem is matching, discovery and recommendation.”
That observation eventually became Mukura.ai, an AI-powered platform that helps boutiques discover brands aligned with their identity while improving online shopping through personalised recommendations. “The gap I saw in those artisan workshops is the problem we are solving today,” she remarks.
Choosing the harder road
Looking back, the entrepreneur feels that the biggest obstacle has rarely been external. “It has always been the overthinking spiral and self doubt.” Every major decision required making a choice like uncertainty over comfort, branding instead of engineering, Monaco instead of familiarity, and entrepreneurship instead of stability.
“I have learned to ask myself one question. Will I regret not trying. If the answer is yes, I go.” Working internationally also taught her how to navigate unfamiliar environments.
As a brown woman in international and often male dominated spaces, I learned that respect comes from the quality of your work and your ability to read the room.
Achla Chandra Shekar
Patience, she says, has become one of entrepreneurship’s greatest lessons. “I have stopped obsessing over outcomes and instead ask whether the compass is still pointing in the right direction.”
Rooted in India, open to the world
Today, success means something very different from titles or recognition for Achla. “It is about whether we are changing something that needed changing and whether the right people are finding each other because of what we built.”
Her advice to young women is to experiment widely before committing deeply. “You cannot know what you will bet everything on until you experience the difference between mild interest and genuine obsession. Travel as much as possible. Work across different fields. The thread connecting everything only becomes visible later.”
Building the bridge
Away from work, the entrepreneur enjoys reading, yoga, science fiction, thrillers and slower hobbies that balance the pace of startup life. She is passionate about animal welfare and women’s empowerment, supports rescue centres in Bengaluru and sponsors the education of girls in India.
Her long-term ambition is to create infrastructure that allows exceptional Indian craftsmanship to reach the audiences searching for it. With Mṛjā and Mukura.ai, she hopes to build that bridge. “The craft exists. The talent exists. What is missing is discoverability. We want to become the layer that connects extraordinary makers with the people looking for exactly what they create,” she signs off.
ALSO READ: New York Runways to Indian Workshops: How Ranna Gill built a global label with Indian craftsmen
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