Experimental, fearless, bold with her designs. Amicable, down-to-earth, humble in her demeanour. That’s Anamika Khanna for me. Every time she has had a show at a fashion week — either at the FDCI India Fashion Week in Delhi or Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai — it has been a must for me to book my tickets without hesitation, irrespective of how busy my schedule has been otherwise. For, after a customary chat with Anamika about the collection days before the show, the excitement of seeing the collection unfurl on ramp has been a different high, one that I wouldn’t miss for anything. This time, however, I will have to contend with watching her opening show of the FDCI x Lakme Fashion Week on my iPad screen on Tuesday night, the show being a digital one. As the two strongest forces of fashion in India unite to host a joint fashion week — in a hybrid format, from March 16-21 — it is all “for the greater good” believes Anamika, and we share her sentiments. The designer takes t2oS through her collection that is more about her “emotions” than mere clothes, her life-changing learnings in the lockdown, and her fashion week memorable moments.

The collaboration between FDCI (Fashion Design Council of India) and LFW (Lakme Fashion Week) is the biggest thing to have happened to Indian fashion in recent times. What’s your take on it?

When I first heard about it, I was like ‘Oh my god! This is great!’. Because, you know, to have these two coming together, it almost felt like the forces of fashion is getting united. That gives me a lot of comfort because you don’t have to choose. You know, nobody wants to take sides, nobody wants to take a decision whether to show here or there (Delhi or Mumbai). That’s a big relief for the designers. Because all these years one had to choose. I didn’t have any sides to take so I did maintain a balance, but having said that, there was always a dilemma whether to show in Delhi or Bombay… because I come from neutral ground (being a Calcutta designer). Besides that, when two very strong entities of fashion are working towards the same goal, the results would be doubled… I see this in the greater good.

Your are doing the opening show of this collaborative fashion week. Tell us about the collection you will be unveiling...

The collection is basically not just about showing clothes on the ramp. Firstly, we are showing digitally. Secondly, lives have changed for all of us... for every human being in the world. During the lockdown, I have managed to do a lot of contemplation… on the why and the what and the how of things. And thinking about this collection, honestly, there were a few things that one realised… there’s a lot of talent around us… incredible talent… there are people around me who are million times more talented… but I have been fortunate enough to get a platform… even to get a platform like FDCI and Lakme together, is a big platform…. And you know, I have crossed that stage of insecurity where I would feel insecure about putting other talent with me and sharing my platform. I don’t have that any more. I felt there was so much noise about ‘vocal for local’ and I am surrounded by artists… so why not work with this talent and give them this platform and see where it goes. That was one of the things… the emotions behind the collection.

Besides that, the last couple of months I have faced a situation of life and death for someone very close to me, which was almost life-changing. I felt that everything in this world, everything that we are living for, nothing has permanence... it’s going to go... nothing stays for ever, what you leave behind is your legacy and that’s the legacy you work on. I kept thinking of permanence. And about preservation, about preserving life, about preserving what you cherish and looking after that. While also making the clothes, I kept thinking, what if someone who is a millennial found a trunk full of beautiful textiles... like if it was her grandmother’s trunk... what would she do about it. That’s what inspired this entire collection.

It’s also on a note of being positive... everyone is feeling a bit more positive now... there is a little more relaxation, people have started going out, the vaccines are coming, so everyone is feeling more vibrant. You want to come out of your drab clothes and you want to dress up. You want to make that effort to dress. This collection being on a positive note, is also slightly more opulent. It’s very experimental but it’s also opulent.

What kind of a design space are you in mentally? I remember the last time we spoke to you, you were in an athleisure, streetwear, rock music-inspired design space…

I am into a little bit of ‘dress up’ space. Like I said, it’s more opulent... it’s also very experimental. You know, I am in the space where I don’t know rules any more. I just don’t want to have rules and limits any more. I want to push these barriers and boundaries. Like, it doesn’t matter to me whether it’s Indian, whether it’s Western... nothing matters. It’s about that freedom of creative space in my head, which is what I am feeling right now. That’s what we have done with this collection. This collection is about what I was feeling, which is more emotional than physical, in every sense of the word.

How long did it take you to build the collection?

You would be surprised, not very long. Suddenly it happened in a very short time. I think it helps to trigger some batteries in my head when the time is short. I was building this collection in my head, then this show came up and then I started giving it form.

You know, how sometimes you are feeling a sentiment in your head, so that’s what I was doing, then they asked me to do the show and I said yes, that’s what I am going to show.

This is going to be your first digital show? Was it your decision to show digitally or the organisers? Are you happy with it being digital or would you have preferred a physical show?

It was decided that the opening show will be digital, which I was fine with. I said let’s take this challenge and do it. They have some physical shows, but since this is the opening show, they decided to do it on a neutral ground. See, at this moment this was a great thing. Because, first, time was short. Second, I just felt it was giving me the freedom of doing whatever I wanted. There are no limits... you can fool around, go technical... you can use technology in many different ways... use settings, backdrops. On top of that FDCI has a great set-up to make a film. They have these interactive 4D circular LED screen.

So tell us how has the past year been for you? How did you cope with it and how did you come out of it?

The lockdown started on a fantastic note, I just felt that all of us were forced to take this break. Otherwise in life you will never take a break, you just keep running. So for everything to stop and that healing to happen... environmental, mental, physical, we needed to stop. We were forced to stop. I think that, though it was for a very sad reason, but it did me a lot of good. I really spent time just being... I was never in a rush... nobody was in a rush... you were just doing things that you have never done. I was going into the kitchen and cooking, really spending time looking after myself.

But as time went by you kept thinking that you need to keep your organisation running, everyone kept thinking that the economy is really in a mess, so what’s going to happen to fashion. People might not have money to spend on fashion, and stuff like that... so you were worrying about that also. So a lot of time we spent on keeping the team together. Also planning. What changes need to be made, just making sure everyone is looked after. Just making sure there is enough work being generated.

I felt it was the time for contemplation. For me, it was the time to realise that I don’t want to leave behind a legacy of just clothes, I want to leave behind a legacy of honest design, experimentation. When I am gone I want people to say that these are timeless pieces. That’s what I want to do. I feel after this whole lockdown situation a lot of clients, customers have gone through a big change. They want to invest in clothes, they want to invest in your brand, they don’t want to just buy. They want to buy something and be able to use it 10 times in different ways. That felt fantastic because that’s something that I have always believed in and now my point is only getting reiterated by this sentiment.

It also gave me the opportunity to think about my home line a lot, which I have been wanting to launch for a while. You know, textile, art, and pieces that we create that just become special. Because everyone is staying at home and you want your home to be pretty, you want to look at things that make you happy, so that’s something that happened in the lockdown.

AK-OK (the pret label by her sons Viraj and Vishesh) took shape in a big way. In the middle of it I went and opened my Mumbai store. The Mumbai store was a challenge, we were trying to finish it during the lockdown, we broke the link somehow and I started redoing the interiors again, of a done store. Because, it just couldn’t translate, sitting in Calcutta. I realised that there is a reason I was opening the Mumbai store and my story needed to be told.

In the middle of everything there has been a lot of weddings planned in India, which has kept us incredibly busy. Then slowly things seemed to be coming back to normal.

So would you say the fashion industry or demand for fashion has bounced back totally?

No, I would say it has bounced back, not to the same normal, it’s a different normal. You know, everyone is still getting married, they are just getting married differently. There are no longer 1,000-2,000 people receptions... there are 50 people weddings or 200 people receptions. Initially, it did impact the choice of clothes surprisingly. When we started in July-August, people were saying it’s 10-20 people wedding, they wanted lighter clothes. But as we are progressing, it’s back to normal. I guess the bride always wants it to be her special thing and doesn’t want to compromise on what they wear really.

Historically, a global event of this magnitude has always had far-reaching impacts on fashion. Do you think the impacts of the pandemic on the fashion industry will be far-reaching or are more temporary?

Sure. I was reading about World War I and you know, the most powerful era of fashion was the 1920s... it was the most exuberant, vibrant, rich fashion ever. I read this whole thing, after the depression people just went into reverse mode... they just splurged.

You know, I can see that happening again... we all want to splurge... the thing about human beings is that they look for ways to come out of depression. They need to fall on certain things and I see that fall on fashion... that no more are people willing to look ordinary, they want to make statements with fashion... that’s what I see happening. I feel that this opulence is going to get bigger and stronger... and why not?!

I just feel, when you wake up in the morning and you think about your clothes, or you think about yourself, you dress up and it changes your whole perspective. I just feel if fashion is giving us something to look forward to, I feel very positive about it.

Recently we have seen big designers like Sabyasachi and Tarun Tahiliani selling stakes in their businesses to a corporate house. Do you see that as the way forward for your brand too?

Probably not yet but no doors are closed. You know, I am just leaving it open. I don’t want to close my doors and say nothing doing. If I am ready for it, if I am able to take my brand to this position, if I see there’s something really worth its while then we will talk about it, but at the moment no.

The opening show of the FDCI x Lakme Fashion Week will be held on March 16 at 8pm.

All FDCI x Lakme Fashion Week showcases will be streamed on both platforms’ social media handles as well as on the official websites: www.fdci.org and www.lakmefashionweek.co.in

Fashion Week memorable moments

My most crazy and most memorable was the one that was supposed to be held at the Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai, which got shut down (due to political disruptions) and we recreated the show (at the grand staircase at the foyer of St. Regis) and I think we managed to create some magic I don’t know how. So that was the most memorable.

One of the shows, I don’t remember the year, you know I took the sari and cut it up and put it with a trouser. I remember when six-seven of these girls came out wearing the pant-sari, there was this reaction from the audience that still gives me goosebumps. I knew I had done something which was going to make a difference.

Then there was another show which we had done at The Leela. I came out and Rohit Bal literally made a poem on me, Sunit Varma picked me up... these moments that happen you know, it just sort of leaves these incredible memories. Every time you do a show there are memories.

I have also managed to experiment in my shows, in that respect I have been very fearless... from the time I started I always had that thing that if I do something it needs to be something different that hasn’t been seen. I remember one of my first shows, Prasad Bidapa was doing, we put these boys in lehngas. It was a very big risk 20 years ago... people thought what’s going on. I wasn’t scared, I was like we will see, let’s just do this. Over time of course you become more and more confident. Earlier I used to eat trend books for breakfast... I used to study trends morning, evening and night because you wanted to be ahead of what’s happening. You wanted to know the next trend so that you could be one up on that trend. But now I have started working with instinct more. Now it’s more about what you are feeling rather than what you are studying. You automatically become in sync with what is happening. It’s coming naturally... of course I am still studying day and night, but I am not following trends now. It is coming automatically in my subconscious and you learn how to predict, you learn how to do the next thing.

Pictures: Sandip Das