Workwear fashion has made strides today offering a variety of options in both men’s and women’s wear. While men are sporting classic suits, blazers paired with chinos, polo t-shirts with trousers for a smart casual look, turtlenecks, button-downshirts, and more — it’s the wide range of women’s wear options that takes one by surprise. Women are not just wearing muted tones in pantsuits but going allout and experimenting with bold colours. The variety of options today in workwear for women did not exist in the 1990s.
Liberalisation had just knocked on India’s doors enabling retail brands to come to India; workwear was just about to develop as a niche segment. Designer Anita Dongre saw an opportunity. She wanted to cater to the aspirations of urban workingwomen and launched her contemporary western wear label, AND, in 1995. It is one of the first Indian designer labels to focus on affordable, ready-to-wear Western outfits, giving women choices beyond predominant ethnic wear formalslike saris, and three-piece kurta sets. Since then the label has evolved— it understands the psyche, body, comfort and the changing priorities ofthe modern working women.
As AND celebrates 25years, Dongre says that “25 years later, the core design ethos of the brand has stayed the same. We have continued to focus on creating classic outfits for her lifestyle in quality fabrics”. To mark its silver jubilee, the label has just dropped its new collection, ‘Studio AND’. It offers a slew of styles from a chic magnet skirt, metallic georgette dress, jacquard co-ord set and midi dress, pantsuit, satin shirts, wide-legged trousers, and jumpsuits to LBDs suitable for formal gatherings. The colour range is dynamic with cherry, cobalt blue, black, emerald green, strawberry pink, and champagne,as dominant shades. “The edit ‘Studio AND’ is a premium, exclusive line. It offers limited-edition styles that elevate a woman’s wardrobe with timeless sophistication.
“The collection features luxe fabrics, intricate embellishments, and youthful silhouettes, blending our signature aesthetic with bold, and fresh designs. My personal design philosophy is not defined bytrends and forecasts. I always design with whatever inspires me in the moment — it could be a colour, a quote, a place, a book or even a person,” she says.
Today, working is not limited to the office. It is carried on at home, on vacations, brunches, and at parties while networking. “Workwear has now become versatile enough to go from desk to dinner,” says the 61-year-old designer. She picks a few outfits for various outings — a spaghetti strap georgette dress with an asymmetrical hem for vacation, a two-piece versatile black jacquard pantsuit for a regular office day, and a gold sequin skirt with a classic white shirt for a soirée.
For her, AND is a way to uplift the spirits of today’s shoppers. “Over the years we have had so many women andyoung girls come to us to get a look for their first interview, their internships, or an important presentation.” Dongre uses eco-friendly materials like Tencel Lyocell fibre made of wood pulp, modal fabric derived from beech tree and is also into plastic waste management and upcycling fabric waste. For AND, she’s equally committed to sustainability and is working for a line that uses zero-water printing.