Indian designer Anamika Khanna on the Ambani wedding and her H&M collaboration

“It’s an honour, but there is a lot of pressure because the world is watching and you have to get it right,” she admits. The bride’s highly photographed yellow floral dupatta—a long piece of cloth covering the head, neck and shoulders—became a focal point at the affair. Khanna crafted an understated yellow piece for the bride—a mere few hours before she was due to wear it—using fresh jasmine buds, yellow button daisies, Thai rui flowers and 90 marigold strings. The outcome? A surreal sheet of floral work.

While wearing floral jewellery and designs is not uncommon at an Indian event, wearing fresh flowers as clothing is. “When I was approached to do this outfit, they said they wanted a floral look. I said: ‘Everyone wears floral jewellery—but do you have the guts [to try something different]?’” The result was one of the most viral moments from the wedding.

The wedding as a whole spoke to a much larger conversation about India. Not only was it a large PR coup for the country but, as Khanna says, its sheer scale was a real moment for Indian design to finally be recognised on the global fashion map. “I see India as a very powerful force in fashion,” she says. “I don’t think this is a bubble that’s going to burst.” Khanna is also acutely aware of the transformative changes happening on the Indian fashion landscape. With the rise of social media, Indian designers are reshaping perceptions of Indian attire on a grand scale. “The Indian fashion industry has come 180 degrees,” she says. “When I started, there were very few people designing. There was no social media and no exposure to the rest of the world. Kids today are so aware of what everyone else is doing, it forces you to keep pushing.”

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Khanna’s partnership with H&M marks a significant milestone, allowing her to bridge the gap between high fashion and accessibility. While the Swedish brand is unquestionably high street, it has collaborated with major designers since 2004; Karl Lagerfeld was the first, and other haute houses to follow in his pointed-toed footsteps include Lanvin, Versace and Balmain. Khanna is the second Indian designer, after Sabyasachi Mukherjee in 2021, to have teamed up with the brand. Her goal was to create a collection that embodies her ethos while reaching a wider audience, making Indian craftsmanship available to all.

“It’s a very prestigious thing—and it’s a very easy and versatile collection. You can have fun with it,” she says. The collection, which comprises womenswear, jewellery and accessories, was made available in September in Singapore, Vietnam, India, the UK, South Africa and Dubai.

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