Anamika Khanna had just about landed in Mumbai with her sons Viraj and Vishesh and her team for the AK-OK (the pret label from the stable of Anamika Khanna) showcase on Friday when t2 bumped into her at the food court at Jio World Convention Centre. Dressed in “kurta-pyjama” as Anamika described it, and accessorised chunky, her signature, she looked pristine with the aura of sophisticated glam. Almost as if she was born with a sense of effortless ease and an inherent coolness of spirit.
There was a certain radiance on her face. And as she sat down with us for a quick chat over a vegan plate of sushi, you could feel the joy of freedom in her voice. She was rushed for time, yet there was a sense of calm. Something that almost gave her, her steel. “The mood here is to have fun actually. This collection is about this freedom that I feel that we don’t have any restrictions and bindings and we can actually mix anything with anything. People don’t have rules and people don’t have to be a certain way. It’s okay to be someone else and be something else, adapt identities, just be who you want to be. It is about intermingling,” Anamika smiled, offering us a sneak peek of her collection, and, a bite of sushi.
Hours later, when we met her again, Anamika had changed into her look for the bow post-show. A white shirt and flared blue denims. The jeans, Anamika cool, distressed and with surface embellishment and her wrists stacked with loads of bangles. We told you she was born cool! “What I feel works for me is when I am comfortable in what I am wearing and I am not trying too hard or to prove a point. The other thing is I have a lot of courage. I don’t care what everyone is doing. Everybody will be in a black dress and I will wear my white kurta-pyjama and I’ll walk in and I’ll be fine with it,” she said.
In between rehearsals, which t2 got a sneak peek of, Anamika instructed the stylist for the show to accessorise artiste Shrii’s look with a bandana. Minutes before the show began, Anamika gave the final touches to the styling of her outfit. Attention to detail. Percussionist Jonqui too got the Anamika touch.
The clothes she would send shortly were packed with detailing too. On a closer look, t2 noticed metal coins that resembled now obsolete 10 paisa coins that had been used as embellishments. The jewellery and shoes for the show, made in-house, had us drooling. Heaped out on tables and marked with the names of models, they looked like a veritable treasure trove of the inimitable Anamika aesthetics. #gypsycool
Shanaya Kapoor walked in AK-OK
The same no-holds-barred edginess that made our hearts go dhak-dhak for a full half an hour, as Anamika’s goddesses marched out in their raw coolness.
The spring-summer ‘24 collection drew inspiration from the eclectic Bonda tribe of Odisha. Anamika mixed and matched, layered and “unlayered”, and presented a collection so utterly sexy that it took our breath away. “I actually started with the idea of having fun with this collection. For me it is also important that when I design AK-OK, I should be able to wear each piece in different ways on my own as well. That’s where I actually start. This time the referencing was very interesting. It started with one of the tribes I got inspired by and then I met a friend who had visited and he is a biker and over a conversation it just started and we decided we are going to mix all of this experience into one collection,” she told t2 post-show.
Jackets, pants, drapes and kaftans were among the many silhouettes presented. Gold pants layered with white drape and teamed with statement accessories. Dresses with capes. Boots worn with metal kadas reminiscent of khaglas that are worn by the Bonda tribe, coin embellished bibs worn with long-flowing jackets and pants, a short white dress with studs and studded boots and draped dresses were matched with kohl eyes and the occasional wild hair. The Anamika denims were personalities on their own, making their appearances in various avatars, breaking down the concept of denims as we know it.
There were her signature whites and gold, play of prints and embroidery. Grungy and boho, the oomph of the personality shone through in every piece. Power sexy and fierce femininity of owning one’s choices and never blending in.
“Well, women are fearless, no? There is no reason for anyone to hold anyone back and everyone, why just women, can be who they are,” said Anamika.
She styled upcoming actress Shanaya Kapoor in an asymmetrical white shirt dress and stacked lots of cool jewellery on her neck and wrists. “I love stacking… it’s the idea of being able to layer and unlayer… you wear one piece and you want to wear 100 and it’s okay,” she said.
Absolutely. As Anamika says: “Everything is AK-OK”.