[ad_1]
From dressing Kareena Kapoor Khan to the Duchess of Cambridge and Kim Kardashian: Anita Dongre has made India’s fashion landscape global. The designer had the vision to introduce an element of comfort into designer clothing since she was sixteen years old. In a career spanning decades, the vision has translated beautifully with her stellar creations. What makes her creations inherently elegant is that she transforms comfort into high fashion. In an industry that is all about glitz and glamour, the designer eschews the concept that beauty is pain.
Apart from being a designer, Anita Dongre has been a pioneer when it comes to sustainability in fashion. It has incorporated awareness into its business practices and is constantly going the extra mile to reduce its brand’s carbon footprint.
Its conscious practices and cutting-edge designs are what have made it a favorite choice of A-listers. She has dressed royalty such as the Duchess of Cambridge as well as Queen Mathilde of Belgium. Hollywood celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Beyonce and Sophie Turner among others. When it comes to Bollywood, she has dressed the likes of Kareena Kapoor Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Janhvi Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif, Ranveer Singh, Kartik Aaryan and others. Her designs were also Neha Dhupia’s favorite choice on her wedding day.
We chat with Anita Dongre who discusses fashion, bringing sustainability to Bollywood and shares her interesting encounter with Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge.
You started a fashion empire with your sister with nothing but two sewing machines on your balcony. From your journey from there to becoming a household name in the country, what’s one thing you’ve learned along the way?
When I was 16 and went to study design, my goal was always to create fashion that would make women feel good about themselves. For me, fashion is an emotion and a very powerful tool to make people feel good about themselves. And today that purpose is made greater by making the people who make our clothes do good. Fashion is really driven by the goal of making the wearer feel good and making the creator do good because this industry employs thousands of people and is such a huge income generator. This I think is my main incredible pleasure today.
Your creations have been worn by the biggest names in Bollywood, from Kareena Kapoor Khan to Alia Bhatt. What do you think separates your brand from the rest?
It feels so wonderful to see all these amazing and wonderful women wearing our creations because I respect and admire each and every one of them. I think when I design, as a woman I bring sensitivity to the design table – my style is very comfortable and at the same time very elegant and I think a lot of thought goes into what we do. So I’d say it’s thoughtful, elegant and comfortable. I think women resonate with all these values that I try to bring to my design and wear them so beautifully. I think the icing on the cake is when a woman carries it or designs it so well and she owns it when she wears it. I always think the woman should own the design and not the other way around and all these women you mentioned are incredible and how they make clothes work.
Be it Madhuri Dixit, Karisma Kapoor, or Priyanka Chopra Jonas, the actors you dress are brimming with personality and an authentic sartorial sensibility. Who are some of your favorite celebrities to wear?
This is a difficult question to answer, because for me every woman is special. Whether she’s a celebrity or just a customer walking into my shop. Whether it’s a woman going to her first job interview, it’s her wedding, an actor wearing your creation at an award ceremony, or a public gathering, it’s important to me how they feel in the outfit . I really think today the women who dress me are my inspiration.
Do you have any fashion tips that you’ve shared with any of the leading actors? Can you share this tip with us?
I tell everyone this, my clients too – don’t follow trends blindly. I think everyone should wear what works for them, for their body type. To know your body type and highlight the aspects you want. An intelligent woman doesn’t blindly follow trends and I would say that most of the women who dress me are pretty intelligent.
You dressed Neha Dhupia for her impromptu wedding which was planned in less than 48 hours. How was the experience of dressing her for such an important day at such short notice?
I am very grateful to have such a great team. We always deal with last minute requests and a bride for us is always the number one priority because she has a lot to take care of before her wedding. So I’d just say thank you to my team and all of us who made it happen – it was just great teamwork. Just making sure the bride was happy was the most important thing for us at that point.
You have dressed international celebrities such as Hillary Clinton, Duchess of Cambridge, Kim Kardashian, Beyonce, Sophie Turner and more. How does it feel to be at the forefront of Indian fashion?
I’ve been saying this for a long time and we’re almost there now – I really think it’s high time Indian craftsmanship and Indian design deserve global recognition. When world-famous women like Kate Middleton dress us, it’s a great day for Indian fashion and design. We need more of this to be recognized now. When we were dressing Kate, Anita Dongre was the seventh most googled designer in the world, so dressing celebrities like her brings Indian design to the fore.
Can you share any fun encounters with any of the international A-listers you’ve dressed?
Kim Kardashian was an editorial shoot, so I wasn’t there, nor was I there for Beyonce. But I was lucky enough to meet the Duchess of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace in London and it was a very nice conversation we had. She shared her love for Rajasthan with me and said that if there is one place I want to go back and visit it is Rajasthan and Jaipur. She knows I’m from there and said that’s why she chose my designs. So we share our common love for Rajasthan and so much of my design is inspired from there; it felt so good to hear that she wants to visit there again because she thinks she didn’t get enough on her first trip.
When it comes to celebrities, we’ve seen year after year that repeating outfits isn’t something that’s been trending. How can we change that?
Celebrities and the media have a lot of power and they should use this power to influence the rest of society. I have a lot of respect for Queen Mathilde, the Queen of Belgium, she wore one of our outfits which she replicated. The Duchess of Cambridge also regularly repeats her outfits. So, I think celebrities should keep repeating outfits to send the message that sustainability is the only way forward for the fashion industry. It is a big responsibility that they should take very seriously.
How can we make Bollywood fashion more sustainable?
I really think celebrities today should make sure they wear cruelty-free fashion and support clothing that is hand-woven and made by local artisans. As I said, they have great power in their hands to drive all this interest, because today the world watches what they do. So they need to make sure they themselves are making the right choices and many more will follow. They should support brands that are circular and cruelty-free; they should research and support those who are doing all this.
You are not only a creative genius, but also a shrewd businesswoman with multiple brands under your name. What is the one piece of advice you would give to young women who are inspired by you?
I don’t know if I’m a shrewd businesswoman, I don’t feel like one. All these brands were created because they were my dream and I just come to work every day and fulfill the dreams that I have. So, I guess I would tell every young person to believe in your dreams, persevere with hard work and determination and you can see your dreams come alive. I came to work every day and worked towards this goal – Everything starts with a dream or a vision. And a belief that your vision is possible.
[ad_2]
Source link