Anamika Khanna is an Indian fashion designer and philanthropist known for her traditional Indian textile styles as well as Western silhouettes and tailoring techniques.
Wiki/Biography
Anamika Khanna was born on Monday, July 19, 1971, in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India (52 years; as of 2023). Her zodiac sign is Cancer. She moved to Kolkata with her family when she was very young. She completed her schooling from MB Girls High School, Kolkata and pursued a degree in arts from Loreto College, Kolkata. Anamika has also participated in numerous fashion workshops held at places like the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and different universities in Paris. She settled in Kolkata, India.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′4″
Hair color: natural black
Eye color: dark brown
family
Parents and siblings
There is no information about her parents; however, Anamika has two sisters, Suruchi Choksi and Suhani Pittie. Suruchi is an abstract artist and Suhani is an Indian jewelry designer.
Anamika Khanna’s sister Suhani Pittie
Anamika Khanna’s sister Suruchi Choksi
husband and children
Anamika Khanna married her long-term boyfriend when she was 25 years old. They had an inter-caste marriage and the couple later gave birth to twin sons Viraj Khanna, a sculptor, collage artist and fashion entrepreneur, and fashion designer Vishesh Khanna.
(Left to right) Vishesh Khanna, Anamika Khanna and Viraj Khanna
Profession
fashion design
As an art student, Anamika Khanna used to sketch during college, and her friends convinced her to send her designs to the Fashion Awards. Her designs were chosen and she was invited to participate in a fashion show, having never made a garment before. She entered the fashion industry as a designer in the early 1990s and launched her own label ‘Anamika Khanna’ in Kolkata in 1998. Her brand is known for its collections of bridal, casual and formal wear. She participated in India’s first Lakme Fashion Week held in New Delhi in 1999. In 2005, Anamika participated in Will’s Spring/Summer Fashion Week, showing her collection “The Botanist” and in the same year, she participated in London Fashion Week. In 2008, Anamika attended the HDIL India Fashion Week in Mumbai, showcasing her signature style of a cape-shaped dress that was almost similar to the dhoti worn by Mahatma Gandhi. In 2010, Anamika showcased her autumn/winter collection at the Prime Minister of India’s London Fashion Week held at the Bloomsbury Ballroom in London, and the following year, she showcased her collection at Lakme Summer Resort. In 2013, she participated in the PCJ Delhi Fashion Week, showcasing her designs in shararas, vests and jackets in black, white and gold combinations. The tribal jewelry presented to models wearing Anamika Khanna’s designs came from her sister Suhani Pittie’s jewelry brand.
Anamika Khanna (wearing black trousers) attends PCJ Delhi Fashion Week 2013
The same year, at her first Delhi Fashion Week, Anamika revealed how her famous ‘Dhoti Pant’ design came about. Once, she saw a dhoti-wearing pujari (priest) working in a temple near the Anamika factory and was so fascinated by him that she eventually asked him to help drape a dhoti on a female model (mostly men’s clothing) . . Designers then improvised on the garment, adding luxurious fabrics to make it ready-to-wear rather than hand-tied, and this was how the famous pudding pants were born. In 2014, Anamika Khanna cooperated with the Italian luxury brand “BVLGARI” (also written as “Bulgari”) and opened a new store in New Delhi.
Anamika Khanna (third from left) at the BVLGARI stpre launch event in Delhi
In 2016, Anamika launched her first jewelry collection ‘Anamika Khanna X Amrapali Jaipur Collection’ in collaboration with Amrapali Jewels. Her jewelry collection features ruby and emerald designs.
bollywood projects
Anamika Khanna has designed costumes for many Bollywood films like Fashion (2008), Aisha (2010), Mausam (2011), Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo” (2015). In 2011, Anamika designed the clothes worn by Simi Garewal on her talk show “Simi Selects India Most Desirable”.
Awards and nominations
- In 2004, Anamika Khanna received the Export Council Award.
- In 2004, she received the Outstanding Boutique Excellence Award (Female).
- In 2004, she won the MTV Lycra Style Awards – Designer of the Year and the Kingfisher Designer of the Year.
- In 2006, she received the FICCI Women’s Organization’s Young Women Achievement Award.
- In 2007, she received the Marudhar Gaurav Award from the Kolkata Chapter of the Rajasthan Foundation.
- In 2010, Anamika received the prestigious Bharat Nirman Award.
- In 2016, Anamika won the Designer of the Year Award at the Hello Hall Of Fame Awards.
- In 2016, she was appointed as a speaker at the 4th TEDx IIM Shillong to share her views on the theme of “Integration in Conflict”.
- In 2017, she received the ‘India Matter Fashion Designer of the Year Award’ at the 8th Annual India Leadership Conclave and India Matter Business Leadership Awards.
- In 2018, Anamika Khanna won the “Designer of the Year” award at the Vogue Women of the Year Awards.
- In 2019, she won the “HT Most Stylish Designer Award” at the Hindustan Times India’s Most Stylish Awards.
- In 2023, Anamika won the ‘Pioneering Fashion Designer of the Year Award’ at the Pinkvilla Style Icons Awards.
Favorites
- Cuisine: Thai, Indian, Chinese
- Book: Fifty Dresses That Changed the World, Design Museum Enterprises Ltd.
- TV Shows: Criminal Minds (2005), Law & Order (1990), Suits (2011)
- Restaurant: Chinoiserie at Bengal Taj Mahal, Kolkata
- Movies: “Scarface” (1983), “Sholay” (1975), “Life is Beautiful” (1997)
Facts/Trivia
- Anamika Khanna considers celebrities such as Karl Lagerfeld and Vivienne Westwood, as well as Madonna, Tina Turner and Bruce Springsteen Singers such as Bruce Springsteen were her biggest inspirations for entering the fashion industry. She considers Madonna to be her fashion role model. Anamika also credits her mother and grandmother for injecting her innovative fashion sense.
- In 2003, Anamika Khanna was invited to participate in the Bridal Asia exhibition in Karachi, Pakistan and showcase her bridal collection.
- In 2004, Anamika launched India’s first international fashion brand in partnership with international apparel promoters Amit and Radhika Rastogi and showcased her collection at the finale show of Lakme Fashion Week. The brand called “Ana-Mika for Boho” is the main flagship company of Boho-London.
- In 2008, her collection at HDIL Fashion Week was considered “one of the best collections seen on the ramp.”
- In 2009, Anamika was included in the list of 25 most powerful women in India.
- In 2010, after participating in London Fashion Week, she won an exclusive contract with the British retail giant Harrod’s.
- In 2011, she designed a 10-kilogram velvet gown that was presented to international singers by Indian actress Simi Garewal on the talk show “Simi’s Most Desirable People in India” Lady Gaga. The robe is inlaid with pearls, gold and silver.
- In 2012, Anamika organized a fashion show called ‘Falak ki Jhalak’ to help her raise funds for underprivileged cancer patients at the Tata Medical Center in Kolkata.
- At Delhi Fashion Week 2012, she blended Indian craftsmanship with sensual style that had never been done before in India.
- In 2017, at the beginning of the Anglo-India Cultural Year, Anamika Khanna was invited by former Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, former Duke of Edinburgh.
Anamika Khanna (right) attends the British-Indian Cultural Year
- In 2017, she was invited as a guest speaker on a panel discussion on “Leadership Challenges for Women in a VUCA World” at the India Conference, a student-run conference held at Harvard Business School in Boston and Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge.
Anamika Khanna speaks at Harvard Business School in Boston
- In 2019, Anamika Khanna launched a brand called ‘AK-OK’ with her twin sons Viraj and Vishesh as a partnership with Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL). The brand was launched after Anamika suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA) that same year.
- In 2019, Indian fashion watchdog Diet Sabya posted an Instagram post comparing Anamika Khanna’s “AK-OK” designs to Air Jordon sneakers inspired by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour’s “AWOK” signature. contrasted. The post features a photo of Indian actress Sonam Kapoor wearing an Anamika Khanna design at the wedding of Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal in December 2018 . Diet Sabya accused Anamika of releasing plagiarized designs and copying the ‘AWOK’ signature. However, Sonam Kapoor came to support her designer friend and posted a post on Instagram dedicated to Anamika and her struggles. Although Diet Sabya’s post was later deleted, a spokesperson for them stated in an interview that the entire post was factual and not fabricated.
Diet Sabya posts on Instagram after deleting controversial post about Anamika Khanna
Sonam Kapoor posts support for Anamika Khanna on Instagram
- Anamika Khanna was a trained classical dancer and painter before entering the fashion design industry. She used to draw very well.
- She read an African book about textiles, which led her into the fashion world. She then uses her sewing machine to compare and contrast different fabrics and materials to better understand them. After months of self-practice, her design won the Damania Award, India’s prestigious fashion design award in 1995. She was also inducted into the Damania Hall of Fame.
- ffolio store in Bangalore and Ogaan in Delhi were the first stores to stock Anamika Khanna’s designs.
- Anamika was the first Indian woman designer to showcase her collection at Paris Fashion Week 2007.
- She has been selected to the “Fashion Business 500” (a list of people who shape the $2.4 trillion fashion industry) for five consecutive years (2013-2018)
- In 2023, Anamika Khanna appeared in HELLO! 100 Most Influential List.
- Anamika considers Sonam Kapoor to be the “most stylish Bollywood celebrity”.
- Anamika’s Fall 2019 collection is on display at the Phoenix Art Museum, the largest visual arts museum in the Southwest.
- Anamika Khanna loves to play golf and her favorite golf club is Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) in Kolkata.
- Anamika Khanna has appeared on the covers of many famous magazines like Vogue, Elle, Hi! and many more. BLITZ, Harper’s Bazaar Brides and Grazia.
Anamika Khanna on the cover of Vogue (2013)
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education