Aza Man launch to support life-saving heart surgery

After more than two decades in the fashion industry, Zulfikar Ali has returned to where his career began, launching his new menswear range with the Tappoo Group while pledging a percentage of sales towards life-saving heart surgery for children.

Mr Ali, who joined Tappoo in 2000 as a boutique head at the Silver Store, has now partnered with the group to have Aza Man stocked across its downtown stores.

But the return is about more than business, with a percentage of Aza Man sales going towards supporting life-saving surgery at the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Heart Hospital.

Mr Ali said the launch brought together three things that were meaningful to him — fashion, his association with Tappoo Group and giving back to the community.

His career with Tappoo saw him progress from boutique head to fashion buyer and national sales manager for the Indian Boutique division, where he said the foundation of Aza was created with the support of the group.

Mr Ali left Tappoo in 2019 before taking a different path and, following the COVID-19 pandemic, took the step of starting his own business in 2022.

Seven years after leaving Tappoo, he has now returned to the group with Aza Man.

“Coming back today after seven years, and joining hands with Tappoo Group once again to launch Aza Man is a very special, full circle moment for me,” Mr Ali said.

The launch also marks a new chapter in his efforts to combine fashion with community service.

Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Heart Hospital Director and Chief Executive Dr Krupali Tappoo welcomed the partnership, saying it was a “wonderful blend” of fashion and purpose.

She said the hospital had carried out 489 life-saving surgeries and interventional procedures in its four years of operation, with close to 57,000 echocardiograms conducted through its screening programmes.

Dr Tappoo said the hospital was established because children in Fiji and the Pacific were dying because they did not have access to life-saving heart surgery.

Families seeking treatment overseas could face costs of more than $100,000, while congenital and birth defects were not covered by insurance.

She said all surgeries and catheter procedures at the hospital were provided free of charge, but the service depended on financial support from donors and the community.

“Every dollar makes a difference. Every contribution counts,” Dr Tappoo said.

Mr Ali said the initiative meant customers purchasing an Aza Man garment would not simply be buying fashion but would also be contributing towards giving someone a chance at life.

For Mr Ali, the partnership represents more than the launch of another fashion range — it marks a return to where his career began while creating an opportunity to give back to the community.