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Founders
John Bissell, William Nanda Bissell · Founded 1960 · New Delhi, India
Quick Answer
Fabindia was founded by John Bissell, William Nanda Bissell in 1960 in New Delhi, India. The company is currently led by William Nanda Bissell.
In 1958, John Bissell, an American textile buyer from a prominent Connecticut family who worked for Macy's in New York, traveled to India on a two-year Ford Foundation grant to advise the government on handloom export potential. Bissell fell in love with India's rich handloom weaving traditions and decided to stay. In 1960, he founded **Fabindia Overseas** in New Delhi, initially exporting handwoven Indian durries and upholstery fabrics to American home decorators. In 1976, Bissell opened Fabindia's legendary first retail store in Greater Kailash, New Delhi, creating the iconic cotton kurta and defining the modern Indian aesthetic for generations to come.
John Bissell was an American textile buyer from Connecticut who studied at Yale University, worked at Macy's, and founded Fabindia in New Delhi in 1960.
John Bissell is the Founder of Fabindia. In 1960, Bissell established Fabindia to export handloom textiles, opening its first iconic retail shop in 1976. Bissell pioneered the modern Indian ethnic fashion aesthetic, championing fair-trade partnerships with rural weavers.
William Nanda Bissell is an Indian entrepreneur and author who graduated from Wesleyan University and transformed Fabindia into a nationwide retail chain.
William Nanda Bissell is the Executive Chairman of Fabindia. Bissell created community-owned artisan companies, expanded the store network from 2 to 360+ stores, and launched Fabindia Experience Centers.
Rajeshwari Srinivasan
Chief Executive Officer
Former Tata/Titan veteran with 30+ years of luxury and lifestyle experience who directs omni-channel retail, category expansion, and digital growth.
Dipali Patwa
Chief Brand & Community Officer
Oversees global creative direction, sustainability storytelling, experiential retail design, and FabNu youth fashion lines.
William Nanda Bissell
Executive Chairman of the Board
Visionary leader who expanded Fabindia from 2 stores to 360+ nationwide, created community-owned artisan companies, and pioneered Fabindia Experience Centers.
Fabindia was founded in 1960 by John Bissell, William Nanda Bissell in New Delhi, India.
The founders established Fabindia with the objective of solving core inefficiencies in Artisanal Lifestyle Retail, Handloom Ethnic Apparel, Organic Foods, Handcrafted Home Decor & Sustainable Indian Craftsmanship, laying the foundation for its current global scale.
Even as Fabindia scales to $200M, the organization maintains the founders' commitment to innovation and customer-centric execution.