In Conversation

ABU JANI & SANDEEP KHOSLA: FABULOUS & CLASSY FASHION Designer duo Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla are a name to reckon with in the fashion industry. Being one of the pioneers, they are redefining Indian fashion globally.

BY NIDHI JOSHI

32 Millionaireasia India MARCH – APRIL 2020 ecently, the designer duo Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla were in the capital city of Delhi to showcase their Rcollection based on the theme ‘Blend’ - an ode to unifying power of fashion, for the 15th edition of Blenders Pride Fashion Tour. Going strong for more than 33 years together, Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla is a brand that has contemporary yet timeless fashion as its core essence. Here is an excerpt from an interview...

If you had to describe Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla signature style, what would that be? I think glamour, gold, over-the-top, and classic. It’s fine embroidery and huge amount of technique. It’s also about revival and most importantly it’s about fineness, whether it’s chikankari – a rewrite completely and it’s become a market of its own now, zardozi which we are getting fine-grained with fabrics that we have done in Gujarat. So we are tapping all those but giving our own Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla interpretation to the traditional stuff.

How do you view the Indian fashion at present? How do you think we’ve progressed? Fashion has spread like wildfire. When we started out, there was nobody. There were only those who used to do textiles. There was no fashion journalism. There were only two people who did, one being Meher Castelino. So from then to now, it’s been a huge jump but unfortunately with that a lot of rubbish has too seeped in. It filters out eventually what we do and they want whatever we not as big as it is today. Bollywood is but lots of knockoffs, random writing, give them. We keep them in mind and, bigger today because now it’s got a photos, copying – it’s all happening. It of course, you don’t give somebody wider platform and abroad too isn’t flattering when you’re in the something to wear which may look Bollywood is really big now. So 80s was business and you own a certain thing but foolish. It really depends on the Dimple Kapadia and Jaya Bacchan, 90s it’s on some app somewhere. personality of the person, so we design was the wonderful Amrita Singh and something according to that. Madhuri Dixit, and in 2000 Sonam Your first celebrity client was Dimple Kapoor has been the forerunner in Kapadia, and the list is still growing Over the years, how do you think the fashion in a certain manner. There’s also day by day. How do you feel about celebrities have interpreted fashion in Priyanka Chopra and Deepika designing for celebrities? terms of the 80s, 90s, and 2000s? Padukone, but I would say Sonam has Fortunately for us, the celebrities we’ve In the 80s, there was nothing that was been a game changer to a certain level designed for already have a respect for happening. Bollywood at that time was in sense of fashion.

MARCH – APRIL 2020 Millionaireasia India 33 In Conversation

“We are very different people but there is an underlying respect. The magic is we disagree to agree”

What would you like to say about your partnership? What’s the secret? We are very different people so differences are there, but there is an underlying respect that we won’t cross a certain line. The magic is we disagree to agree.

You’ve also worked on various movies like Devdas, Umrao Jaan, Veere Di Wedding, and more. Your thoughts on designing for a Bollywood movie? Working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali challenges you and I think Devdas was creatively very satisfying. He showed his visual detail so beautifully. He feels your garment as much as you love your garment. The first outfit that Madhuri wears is a chikan lehenga with the dupatta, she flips it, and the mirror breaks – that was so beautifully shown. We got a National Award for that film and then after that Veere di Wedding happened which again, Rhea Kapoor was a joy to work with. It was all young, young, young and different. So that was great fun and with the three wonderful stars, it was lovely.

What would you say are your plans for is so proud of her clothes, then the it’s a very fashionable word to use. We the future as a label? daughter wears them. We have seen would love to do sustainable clothes, To go international hopefully with our Mrs. Teji Bachchan, to Jaya, to but we are still doing hand embroidery, stores all over the world and grow Shraddha, to Navya – so four or five we do pure fabrics and we don’t global. That’s the main plan. generations that we’ve been designing actually label our clothes sustainable for. It is kept like an heirloom and it until they actually really are 100% Sustainability is the new buzzword in goes on. Sustainability thoughts are sustainable. fashion. What are your thoughts on very noble, I must tell you honestly, but that? it’s a very wide term at the moment. It “We are very different people but there I must say, there are three generations needs to get clarified and how strictly is an underlying respect. who’ve worn our clothes. So a mother you want to follow it. At the moment, The magic is we disagree to agree”

34 Millionaireasia India MARCH – APRIL 2020