Designer Spotlight
of fabric. Gussets are rectangular pieces of
natural fabric, inserted into the garment to make it
more comfortable.
Anjana has always looked at the possibility of
giving traditional techniques a new expression.
Her concept involves bringing two or more
techniques together such as kantha embroidery
on a Benares textile; and designing easy to wear
garments such as pre-pleated sarees. The Anjana
Bhargava label continues to innovate and present
two collections each year.
A Young impression
Anjana’s daughter, Ankita, grew up in an
environment of textiles and garments. Watching
her mother interact with artisans and design
garments, Ankita inculcated the same interests.
She completed her studies in Fashion Designing
at the London College of Fashion in 2004 and
then did BSc in Business Studies at Cass
Business School, London, (2005). In 2008,
the mother-daughter duo launched ANKY,
‘a label that is conceptualised on comfort
dressing and understated luxury’, thus launching
luxury street wear.
After moving to the US, she became keen to
design garments ‘that would cater to the needs
of global citizens and retain Indian culture and
tradition using sustainable Indian fabrics and
weaves’. Both Anjana and Ankita are committed
to the principles of zero wastage and re-inventing
traditional Indian patterns into modern day
classics. They want to show the world the beauty
of Indian textiles and the design philosophy of
traditional Indian pattern-making on garments
such as lehengas, kalidar and kurtas that are
cut and stitched with gussets and zero wastage
Dhi: Indian Aesthetic,
International Appeal
Drawing from their Indian roots, Anjana and
Ankita create collections of trousers, dresses,
sheer overlays, shirts and blouses that are
designed out of hand-woven fabrics involving
zero wastage. Dhi’s fabrics are sourced from
weavers across the country with a preference for
softer colours like off-white, light pink and greys.
Inspiration comes to Anjana and Ankita from life
around them. Their inspiration can appear from
the sky, a bird, a particular colour or anything
beautiful. “For Dhi, our designing process is a bit
abstract. We think of a silhouette, make sketches,
think of which fabric and surface design will work
with it, make the first prototype and then see how
it evolves. We do a lot of sampling and go with
what we feel works. We believe in the simplicity
of design. Dhi is not about fast fashion. Once you
wear a Dhi garment its beauty stays with you. It
is classic, comfortable and luxurious,” informs
Anjana. The fabrics selected are soft to the touch,
fall beautifully, and the surface design, if worked
upon, is muted. Some garments in their latest
collections have a re-interpreted kantha stitch
by working it with a loop, thus giving the fabric a
three-dimensional effect.
Inspired by the flare and fluidity of the kalidar
lehenga, Anjana and Ankita designed the stylish
Dhi lehenga-inspired dress. “The traditional
lehenga is cut in triangular kalis. A lehenga can
have up to a hundred kalis. The way the fabric
is cut and the lehenga stitched promotes zero
wastage of fabric. At Dhi, the traditional Indian
lehenga has been re-interpreted into a modern
day dress designed with eighty kalis. The Dhi
lehenga-inspired dress presented at India Fashion
Week, Spring/Summer 2020 in December 2019
was stitched with a hundred kalis. This dress is
easy to wear and falls gracefully. It is a garment
that you can wear in any part of the world with
panache,” she says.
Looking back over her journey of 25 years,
Anjana says it is important for her as a designer
to keep adding to her skill set as it always adds
value. She is thoroughly enjoying focussing her
energies on Dhi and is looking forward to Ankita
taking it forward and making an international
name for the label. Presently Dhi garments are
available at Dhi Studio,135, Sunder Nagar, New
Delhi (by appointment only), Ogaan.com, and
Onitaa, at Chelsea, London. There will be more
multi-designer stores in the future.
APPAREL I August 2020 I 27