Apparel-August 2020 | Page 27

Designer Spotlight A Thought That Counts Mother-daughter designer duo, Anjana Bhargava and Ankita Bhargava Meattle speak of Dhi, a venture launched to introduce timeless creations, in a chat with Brinda Gill “Dhi means 'a thought' in Sanskrit. A thought is the beginning of everything. Our label Dhi started as a single thought about how to preserve Indian traditional workmanship and craft while keeping them relevant in our ever-evolving world. We wanted to create garments that are rooted in Indian textile skills, and also have a global appeal,” says New Delhi – based veteran designer Anjana Bhargava, of Dhi, a designer label launched in 2019 by her and her designer daughter Ankita Bhargava Meattle who is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Dhi’s expression of design showcases Anjana’s aesthetics and design sensibilities. “Dhi is a collaboration of designers, artists, artisans, entrepreneurs and technologists led by me and Ankita. When Ankita got married and moved to the US in 2013, she found herself wishing for Indian garments that had a contemporary style and were not too ethnic.” The result of this sentiment was the conceptualisation and launch of their label that would showcase garments stitched with Indian fabrics following traditional Indian patterns and yet looking good in the international market. APPAREL I August 2020 I 25