Anamika Khanna (born in Jodhpur, 19 July 1971) is an Indian fashion designer who operates from her studio situated in Kolkata. She has been covered by the Business of Fashion (BOF) for being the Indian designer who has blended traditional Indian textiles and techniques with Western silhouette and tailoring. She is the first Indian designer to have an International label: "Ana mika". Her creations are sold online and offline stores across India and abroad. Before entering the fashion industry, Anamika was a classical dancer and painter.
Career
Khanna's career started in the year 1998. In 2003, she was invited to Pakistan to show her bridal collections as a part of Bridal Asia. In 2004, she launched her international label: Ana mika, and showcased her collections at the Lakme Fashion Week's Grand Finale. In 2005, she displayed her collection "The Botanist" at the Will's Fashion Wee Spring/Summer edition, and took part in the London Fashion Week. She got exclusive contracts from British department store Harrods and was covered by the magazines: Glamour (Paris), Vogue (October 2005 edition in UK) and Vogue Best Buy.
In 2007, she participated at the Paris Fashion Week along with Manish Arora and in 2008 in the HDIL India Couture Week, presenting her signature cowl-shaped dresses that closely resembled the dhoti worn by Mahatma Gandhi. Sonam Kapoor walked the ramp for the first time and she was wearing a golden cowl-shaped gown embellished with zardosi with a top adorned with Mukesh work. She also participated in the Will's Lifestyle Fashion Week Grand Finale Autumn/Winter edition.
In 2009, she became the finale designer at the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Fall/Winter edition. In 2010, she took part in The India Premier London Fashion Week's Autumn/Winter collection. In 2011, she showcased her creations at the Lakme Summer Resort. In 2012, at the Delhi Couture Week she showcased her signature dhoti-pants together with sari drapes and floor-length jackets. In 2013, at the PCJ Delhi Couture Week, her collection had shararas, capes, gilets, vests and coats with a color combination of black, white and gold. Tribal jewellery designed by Suhani Pittie, Anamika's sister, was also a part of the collection.
Khanna showcased her collection at Bvlgari’s India launch in 2014. She is also associated with Bvlgari Singapore. She also introduced a number of trends in adorning oneself at the Lakme Fashion Week Summer, 2015. Some examples include lip colours like dark burgundy and geometric shapes in the form of golden leaves starting from the temples and ending at the inner side of the cheekbones. In 2016, for her show at India Couture Week she associated with Amrapali Jewellers, Jaipur to debut her jewellery collection. The line-up included everything from traditional naths to timeless polki.
Celebrity associations
Sonam Kapoor was seen wearing Khanna's creations at various red carpet events, including Cannes red-carpet gala in 2013, Cannes 2014 and Cannes 2016. Kareena Kapoor had worn Khanna's creation at Lakme Fashion Week 2015 and at various red carpet events. Kapoor's sister, Karishma was also seen donning Khanna's label. Jacqueline Fernandez was seen on the red carpet at Jio MAMI 18th Mumbai Film Festival. Mira Rajput chose to wear Anamika Khanna lehenga at her wedding, she chose not just one but four outfits from the designer at her wedding.
Sonakshi Sinha's curves are a beautiful platform to flaunt Anamika's creation. The most popular look of Sonakshi in Anamika's couture so far is her appearance at the IIFA awards in a lungi styled skirt paired with a short embellished jacket. Getting together for an event with Madhuri Dixit, Deepika Padukone looked suave beyond words in an Anamika Khanna off-white netted saree with a long cape jacket.
Deepika Padukone wore an Anamika Khanna saree at the Time 100 Gala in New York in 2018. Shilpa Shetty, Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Alia Bhatt and Shraddha Kapoor have at least once graced an event in an Anamika Khanna's ensemble. Singer Kanika Kapoor recently hosted a Diwali bash for delegates of Dolce & Gabbana, she chose to wear Anamika Khanna at the special occasion.
Anamika Khanna designed the 10 kg velvet lehenga that was studded with pearls, gold and silver and was given as a gift by Simi Garewal to Lady Gaga – her celebrity guest at her talk show: ‘Simi Selects: India’s Most Desirable. Recently, Sonam Kapoor along with sister Rhea Kapoor wore outfits from Anamika's collection of Everything is AK-OK.