“I panicked briefly, but then I started making masks in my apartment. They were something people needed urgently, and they were the only thing I could think of to contribute.” According to the media, Abacaxi’s masks became popular, and the company witnessed its first phase of growth.
Sood’s current collections include Joggers, flowy dresses, turtlenecks, crochet dresses, sweatshirts, slacks, and tops. Her garments are handcrafted using predominantly natural fibers including cotton khadi, linen, silk, and alpaca in small quantities in New Delhi and Peru, but also made-to-order in New York City. She also remodels sari fabric, reprocesses T-shirts, and reuses scrap fabric whenever needed.
In addition to sustainability, Sood prioritizes inclusion, as evidenced by the models of her designs. Sood produced a plus-size collection in June in partnership with plus-size vintage retailer Berriez based in Brooklyn. On June 1, Sood debuted Fight the System, which is a limited-version capsule collection. A nonprofit known as OutRight Action International based in New York city which advocates for the human rights of LGBTQ+ people across the world will get 10% of the profits from this capsule.
Sood spoke about her business in 2020. She said, “2020 was a wild ride, but looking back on it, it was also the first year that Abacaxi really felt successful. Vogue featured a preview of my first full collection, ‘Fruit Nostalgia,’ in October 2019, and the mask project led to so much growth by driving customers to our website. Eventually, we started selling our collection items as well. Our direct sales and customer base grew, and we were able to give back to several different initiatives such as the New Sanctuary Coalition, the LGBTQ Freedom Fund, G.L.I.T.S., and the Okra Project, to name a few.”
