Anamika Khanna is a leading name in fashion industry in India. She started her career in the year 1998. Once she entered in fashion industry she started climbing the stairs and achieved great success. But do you know from where she learned this art. Anamika had no formal training in fashion. She was a classical dancer and was good at painting. She says “A stunning book on African textiles pulled me into fashion. I used a sewing machine to put together textiles and textures, flat and even, chiffon and woven anything to create a garment, that won the Damania award in 1998.”
Anamika has mingled the Indian traditions and Western styles and modernized the craft with new creations. She is one of those designers who is trying to dress the modern women in modern way yet keeping the traditions intact. She has a store in Kolkata which has her best collections in it; ready to wear and bridal wear. She loves to design saris. She specialized in trousseau wear. Her work has been seen in BOF magazine.
Anamika Khanna is the first Indian designer to have an International label: Anamika in 2004. She is an established brand in UK. She showcased her collections at Lakme Fashion Week and spring/ summer collection was displayed at Wills Lifestyle fashion Week. She is also the first female Indian fashion designer to display her collections at the Paris Fashion Week along with Manish Arora, which was held in 2007. She also took part in the India Premier London Fashion Week in 2010. Further she participated in Lakme Summer Resort, Delhi Couture Week showcasing her dhoti pants with sari drapes and floor-length jackets, Indian Couture Week which was held in Kolkata.
Anamika Khanna was one of the three designers who got a chance to present her collection in Khadi at the fashion show held by Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) for Narendra Modi’s made in India project. During the beginning of her career, she was invited to Pakistan for showcasing her bridal collections as a part of Bridal Asia Event in 2003. She did a show in London which helped her raise large amounts for the Tata Cancer Hospitals Children’s Wing and for the Akshay Patra Foundation.
Anamika Khanna has modernized the Indian craft through her modern wear made from Indian textiles featuring the usage of zardosi, dhoti-pants, shararas, and lehengas. She has created the Maharashtrian nine-yard sari into dhoti-pants. They are actually dhoti style saris and have become the signature creations of Anamika Khanna. She has also introduced the tulip drape, the wavy drape, and the two-pallu-in-dhoti drape.
Her designs have been worn by leading Bollywood superstars like Sonam Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Neha Dhupia, Karisma Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, on different occasions. She has designed clothes for a number of Bollywood movies like ‘Mausam’, ‘Fashion’, ‘Aisha’, ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’, and ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’.
Anamika Khanna also won many awards:
- 2004 The Texcellence Award in the category of Outstanding Boutique among all the female fashion designers. The Kingfisher Award as the Fashion Designer of the Year.
- 2006 The FICCI Ladies Organization’s Young Woman Achiever’s Award
- 2007 The Marudhar Gaurav Award from the Rajasthan Foundation, Kolkata.
- 2008 The FICCI Ladies Organization Woman of Substance Award.
- 2010 The Bharat Nirman Award.
- 2011 The Audi RITZ Icon Award. The She Award.
Anamika Khanna has also won the Export Council Award. Hello! Hall of Fame Awards 2016 presented Anamika Khanna with “Designer of the Year award” for her unparalleled contribution in the realm of fashion. In 2017, at an event in February, Anamika Khanna was honored with a Fashionably Yours Award by T2, The Telegraph.
Anamika is a woman with tremendous business skills, managing multiple outlets all over the country in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad, and even internationally she has a great presence in London and California. She is a talented designer, and her passion and dedication towards her work reflects in all the designs she creates.
