Anita Dongre: A Powerful Fashion Businesswoman

Anita Dongre is nowadays one of the most famous Indian Designers. She built an authentic fashion empire with three design labels: her signature label Anita Dongre, AND, Global Desi.

Recently, she has been nominated for the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Ernst & Young. 

How did she become a businesswoman of Fashion?

Since, she was a child, she always wanted to become a designer in the fashion industry. She used to spend time in her grandmother’s house in Jaipur and she was seduced by Rajasthan with these colourful markets, architecture and the people. The place created an impact on her and a love for design and fashion. Just after graduating from SNDT College in Mumbai, she started supplying ready-to-wear to small stores in the city.

Then, she began to create a collection of clothes that she really liked. Obviously, the collection resounded with the young women who were open to experimenting with new outfits: western outfits. However, like every new designer, she encountered some problems with the shops that she supplied to - a lot of them were not open to the concept and the collections. So, she decided to start her own business. This Indian designer began to work at home designing for friends and supplying to little shops until her father offered her the possibility to start a small factory of her own which had grown more and more.

For Anita Dongre, the most important was creativity because it means constantly re-inventing and innovating herself and her creations, while keeping her signature design aesthetic. Her ideal fashion design is understated elegance and always offers the consumers “accessible luxury” inspired by Indian things and techniques, and by Rajasthan.

To succeed, she always stays organised, creative, and runs her fashion labels like one would run a corporate business - taking into account that fashion is very dynamic, with new trends and new styles coming every day, so she has to be a step ahead in the game. Also, another important key of success for her is to be passionate about what you do and to remember that creativity is constantly work in progress.

Anita Dongre has been successfully doing it right by opening a flagship in Mauritius and expects to realize her dream project - to move the brand headquarters to a bigger facility in Rabale, Navi Mumbai. This would make her company the first Indian fashion house to have its own centralised production hub.

Designer Anita Dongre's Life - A Success Story

There is no denying that designer Anita Dongre is one of the most popular and successful Indian fashion designers. Indeed she has been at the forefront of the Indian fashion scene for over 20 years, but how did she succeed and get so famous?

 

First, as she always loved fashion and style, she studied designing from SNDT, Juhu - a leading Indian fashion school in which she graduated in 1983 - and Bcom from Narsee Monjee. Then to realise her passion for design, she and her sister Meena Sehra, acquired two sewing machines in order to create and supply clothes to a boutique called Saks which was frequented by Bollywood stars. She made a line made from linen for the boutique which agreed to sell her collections. It was a success and Saks wanted more of her creations and this is what launched her career in the world of fashion. And then for few years Anita Dongre not only supplied to famous boutiques in major Indian cities, but also in other cities all around the world.

 

After these experiences she finally decided to create her own label with fresh ideas. The boutiques thought that it will not work, but she travelled several times and had seen that trends were changing. She wanted to design something that urban women can wear and the only way to do it were to retail by herself and so found her own business.

Supported by her sister and also her brother who left his job to join them, thus the company And Designs India Ltd. (ADIL) was created in 1998 and the ascent to success started here. 

 

 

In mid-1999, the label “AND”, which offers a collection of western wear, was launched as an answer to the growing needs of the Indian woman. Today the label remains and has evolved to keep pace with its clients’ changing lifestyles.

At the core of the fashion industry she was able to realise one of her dreams and launch her couture design label “ANITA DONGRE”. It was launched in 2000 at IGEDO, an international forum.

Anita Dongre is the only Indian Designer chosen to showcase her collection at the Finale of the IGEDO Spring Summer Fashion Show. The signature label includes different sub-label that cover varied needs in the market: TIMELESS, IINTERPRET, GRASSROOT, MENSWEAR and recently launched PINKCITY which is a line of jewelry. 

The last of ADIL’s high fashion brands launched in 2007 it is called “GLOBAL DESI”. It is inspired by Indian heritage of colours, fabrics, prints etc.

Anita Dongre's inimitable creations have reached award shows, global red carpets, international catwalks and the pages of many other events. She acquired the loyalty of everyday kind of people and also several celebrities such as Shraddha Kapoor, Anuradha Mahindra, Juhi Chawla, Neha Dhupia, Urmila Matondkar and more.

 

   

  Lakme Fashion Week 2013 and 2014 respectively

   

Anita Dongre at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Ressort 2014

 

And now more than a designer, she has been ranked among one of the 50 most powerful women in business. With her dreams in mind she worked with passion and perseverance and has built what we can call an empire.

 

If you want to see more about Anita Dongre, click here!

 

Anita Dongre : The Trend Setter!

Quote by Anita Dongre

Anita Dongre grew up in the hip suburb of Mumbai, Bandra. She perused her childhood passion for fashion; studying about Fashion Designing at one of the finest fashion institute, S.N.D.T, Mumbai. She entered the world of fashion as soon as she completed her course. She started her own label AND Design India Ltd in 1998, along with her sister Meena Sehra & brother Mukesh Salwani. 
Today, Anita Dongre is one of 50 most powerful business women in India (fortunemagazine,2013), she has three labels namely: AND (Western Wear), Global Desi (Indo-Western) & Anita Dongre (Timeless, Iinterpret, Grassroot and Menswear). Recently, she started with her own jewellery label called the Pinkcity.

Labels of Anita Dongre

Anita Dongre at the Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week, 2011

The Anita Dongre Collection at the Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week Autumn/Winter, 2011 displayed a unique blend of Indian and western fabrics. This modern collection combined long sleeved printed dresses with black bucket belts, jacket caps, stockings and boots, perfect for the winter collection. Brocade jackets were cleverly teamed up with black coloured snug-fitted polo neck and mini skirt. Anita Dongre’s collection incorporated rich Indian silhouettes like raw silk pleats, styled into unusual shapes. Black fabrics were given new definition with silver thread and golden embroidery for the Lehenga and mini-skirts. The Anita Dongre dresses were a brilliant amalgamation of Indian weaves and western silhouettes.

Anita Dongre Collection at Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week Autumn/Winter, 2011

Anita Dongre Collection at Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week Autumn/Winter, 2011

Anita Dongre at the Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week, 2012

 The Anita Dongre Collection at the Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012 was inspired by the 70’s Bohemian Look; her collection was called the “Bohemian Chic”. The ramp was splashed with soft summery colours like light grey, pale pink, feather white, faint yellow and sky blue. The Anita Dongre dresses were for the jovial, gregarious women, who love fashion and freedom. Her Anita Dongre dresses had delicate details of lace and the hand embroidery with hint of block & ikkat prints. The collection focused on breezy dresses, maxi dresses and comfy-style shirts; perfect for the rising temperature. The Anita Dongre  dresses showcased her vision about bringing happiness and joy through her clothing line! GOOD VIBE :) 

“Bohemian Chic” at Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week Spring/Summer, 2012

“Bohemian Chic” at Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week Spring/Summer, 2012

Read more about the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion here!

Or have a look at other Indian Designers!