Spice up your wardrobe with styles from the subcontinent

Since launching her eponymous brand in 1998, Anamika Khanna has been at the forefront of modernising Indian fashion, acquainting the wider world with her country’s rich crafting traditions. The Kolkata-based designer took a dynamic approach to this collaboration, bringing her signature eclecticism, opulent craftsmanship and contemporary tailoring to a collection that features deluxe loungewear. On her visit to New Delhi, fashion director Sharon Armstrong chatted to the celebrated designer, along with Ann-Sofie Johansson, creative adviser at H&M. 

SA: Tell me, Anamika, how did you first get involved in fashion? 

AK: I always had aspirations of becoming a professional classical dancer. I learnt to dance growing up, but came from a family that was more conservative. In India, we have so many different cultures, and becoming a dancer just didn’t seem appropriate. By default, fashion came into my life, but when it did I realised I was born for this, so everything else just went out of the window.

SA: I hear that you acquired many of your designing skills from your mother?

AK: My mom would embroider, and sometimes she would take some of her leftover fabric and come up with something else. And we would ask her, “How did you do it?” As a matter of fact, one of the saris invented in India — a sari that just draped a certain way — came out of her wardrobe. She did away with the pleats and added these other layers so it would be something completely new. And those saris became all the rage in the country ... everyone was making them. When I teach my staff something, I actually know the job. I can sit and show them how to do something with my own hands. It’s more personal, it’s easier, and they can’t make a fool out of me — all of which is thanks to what I learnt from my mother. 

SA: Indian style seems incredibly diverse and influenced by different regions. Can you elaborate? 

AK: I have always felt India is many countries instead of one. You can easily spot someone who comes from the North versus someone from the South. In the Delhi versus Mumbai fashion debate, there is a difference in culture. Delhi might be slightly more ostentatious, and Mumbai is more relaxed, but the fashion is really great in that city as well. In my own city, Kolkata, I don’t even know why we dress up. I could literally be in my pyjamas. The style is much more subtle — nobody wants to stand out. It’s very interesting to try to understand these different national nuances, which are endless. 

SA: Ann-Sofie, how do you choose a designer to collaborate with, and how long does this process take?

A-SJ: We brainstorm many ideas and have a list of designers we are interested in. It’s mostly a matter of timing whether the designer wants to collaborate with us. What is most important is what our customers want — what they just have to have — and we try to surprise them as well. The whole process takes more than a year — about 15 or 16 months from the first conversation to the garments appearing in the stores. The creative work is always what counts, but at some point you have to stop and go into production. The editing is the hardest part. We have such good ideas, and we love exploring them, but at a certain point we know the collection can only be this big. This means we have to cut down on ideas and maybe merge things, so we can get the most out of the collection but still have a coherent array of items. 

SA: Let’s chat about the H&M collaboration. Anamika, what’s the inspiration behind this collection?

AK: This collection is a melting pot of my entire existence — all the experiences I have had, the crafts I have learnt, and the travels I have gone on. 

SA: Tell me more about the jewellery. 

AK: What makes it very interesting is that the designs originated in India, but I’ve created it used recycled and repurposed materials. This is very special for me. One of the pieces is usually worn on the head, but I came to see it didn’t have to be worn traditionally. You can wear it with jeans and a T-shirt and just go out like that. 

SA: What was it like collaborating with H&M on ready-to-wear? 

AK: We already have a ready-to-wear brand, AKOK, so it wasn’t that difficult switching from couture to retail. In hindsight, the collaboration with H&M has been an informative experience. I learnt about being mindful of various factors, from environmental and sustainability issues to the employment generated by the collection and where the fabric was being sourced from.

SA: There is a lot of intricate hand embroidery in the collection. How did you manage this on a mass scale?

AK: It is part of the H&M magic. Their strength is that they are able to produce something which is handcrafted, stay true to it, and yet generate it in numbers. 

A-SJ: We have Indian suppliers we have worked with for a long time and have a really good relationship with. They managed to make those hand-embroidered pieces.

SA: Can you tell me more about the prints in the collection? 

AK: Prints are part of my makeup, something that comes naturally to me. All the prints are derived from different mythologies and the various traditional art forms we have in India. But the way we do it is a bit mad. I will see an eye or a feather in totality, and I will then extract it and see it in its contemporary form. I don’t see it as it is — it becomes a vision of how I see it. Each print tells a unique story.

SA: Ann-Sofie, this collection is quite region-specific. How did you choose where it would go? 

A-SJ: It’s going online globally, and to six different regions. The markets decide if they have the resources to house the collection in-store and whether to promote it. 

SA: Currently fashion is very gender-fluid. Anamika, is this something you considered when designing the collection?

AK: We all definitely want to wear the men’s collection! It’s so cool that we are all in that space at the moment. I think the fashion universe has freed itself. There are no boundaries any more. In India especially, where we once lived by so many rules, all those things are just gone. It’s all about choice now. 

SA: Both of you, do have any favourite pieces from the collection? 

A-SJ: I love the black skirt with the cut-out detailing and hand embroidery. It feels so nonchalant, effortless and laid-back — it’s very much Anamika’s style, and it’s super modern.

AK: The clothes you see here you should be able to wear in various different ways, and that’s important for me.

The collection — comprising womenswear, jewellery and small accessories — will be available in selected stores globally, H&M Gateway in South Africa, and online at superbalist.com. It drops on September 5.

This interview originally appeared in Sunday Times Lifestyle.