For someone who is a big name in the Indian fashion industry, unveiling a new collection should be a cakewalk. However, Anita Dongre still greets every unveiling with bouts of nervous energy. We meet her at her new store in Qutub Garden in Delhi as she scurries around the 10,000 square feet space, ensuring everything is in place for the preview of her creations for the Lakmé Fashion Week finalé, slated for February in Mumbai.
“The designs that you will see are feminine and ultra-sheer. I have used gotta-patti in varied ways to bring out the gold theme,” Dongre says. “Working on a new collection or a show is like prepping for a wedding. The anticipation, the excitement is like a shaadi w aala ghar,” says the 53-year-old designer.
Speaking of weddings, Dongre’s new store at Qutub Garden is a one-stop shop for to be brides and grooms. The two-floor store is reminiscent of a Rajasthani haveli, with a marble-inlaid fountain at the entrance, hand-carved stone jali and jharokha, and a wooden doli. Pichwai paintings on the walls complete the Rajasthani splendour.
All of her stores have a Rajasthani theme, but this store emphasises her connection with the state. “Since there was space, I could accommodate so many elements. I spent four months dreaming my vision for the store. My karigars understood my vision,” says Dongre. “My family belongs to Rajasthan and I would spend three months each year in the state. This is why the sensibility is innate to me,” she smiles.
The store has three bridal rooms, each with a distinct theme. One has sea green furniture and has ensembles for the bride for secondary functions like sangeet and mehendi. The other is shadowed in gold and grey overtones and stocks the heavy artillery for the main wedding function.
The third, which is done up in dark green and blue, has lehengas in vibrant colours of blue and green—perfect for a roka or an engagement ceremony. While one has a swing and matching chairs, the other resembles a Rajasthani baithak.
A jewellery room showcases Pink City, her collection of jadau jewellery. The bridal rooms are akin to that of wedding gown stores in the West, where the bride, bridesmaids and family choose outfits and knock back a few glasses of champagne in the process. “That’s the idea,” concurs Dongre. “Brides are often confused about the look that they wish to wish to embrace for the big day. At my store, they can spend a day trying out any or every outfit.”
Most wedding plannings tend are about the bride, with the groom taking whatever leftover limelight there is. Dongre is intent on changing this. She has given grooms three rooms, one each for prêt, couture and wedding wear. “Once done with their shopping, men can relax and not be bored out of their minds,” says Dongre. The rooms have a pool table, a books corner and lithographs of royals taken from Dongre’s collection. Much like her vision of how men and women should shop for their weddings, she changed a few things in the prêt world. Her label’s business model ensures that patrons get an experience of couture wear with affordable prêt price tags.
“Delhi is very evolved about fashion and people here pursue it like an important discipline,” she says. We will definitely have one eye on the Qutub store, Dongre’s third venture in the capital.