Charu creation offers you the best clothing material available in the fabric market. Fabrics and designers are like two sides of the same coin. One doesn’t go without the other.
Like every fabric going through its journey from fibre to yarn to cloth, every design and every designer has its journey of blooming. Curious? Let’s dive in!
We delved into the coming through of one of the top Indian designers, Anita Dongre, the woman who gracefully broke a lot of glass ceilings and shrugged off stereotypes with sheer hard work and determination.
AND, formerly known as AND India Designs Limited, was her first brand, launched in 1998. Since then, she has launched four other Indian brands.
Safe to say there was no looking back for her from there on!
Born in a conservative Sindhi family and the eldest amongst six siblings, Dongre has been a strong pillar from a young age. She was the first woman in her extended family of 50 cousins to have started working and look how she aced it!
She didn’t just go off alone towards success. Her vision and ambition were backed by her younger sister Meena Sehra, currently the Product Head of HOAD (House of Anita Dongre), who oversees buying, innovation, and merchandising.
The brother Mukesh Salwani, on the other hand, is the Managing director of HOAD.
Dongre graduated with a B.com degree from Narsee Monjee and then from SNDT University with a Fashion Design degree from Mumbai.
She started humbly in the suburban area of Navi Mumbai with her sister and two sets of sewing machines and endless perseverance. Her venture started by supplying garments to stores where the first celebrity to buy her pieces was Dimple Kapadia, who took three cotton shift dresses designed by her.
Like every other entrepreneur, the first few years of her journey were bumpy and filled with multiple roadblocks. A shortage of income initially lead to no money for rent, which sometimes got her evicted and made her shift frequently. Hurdles being hurdles, the entrepreneur came through.Â
Indian Fashion Market didn’t have many contemporary options for the urban woman back in the day. Looking at the opportunity in front of her, Dongre curated a collection for the same and sent it out to stores.
When nobody believed in her vision and rejected her collection, she started off her brand in defiance and belief in herself.Â
There we have it, India’s first urban wear clothing brand for women.Â
Design in its original and most basic sense means a solution to a problem. The need for being clothed is solved by fashion.
Certain designer’s artistic endeavors forgo the comfort and wearability component of the garment. Their focus sometimes more and sometimes solely is on the aesthetic components of the garment. You wouldn’t see that in an Anita Dongre design, it’s a perfectly balanced blend of wearability and aesthetic.
Functionality always remains the key element with aesthetic given its due importance and presence. Quoting Dongre herself, “Design is about wearability and not just about the beautiful bodies on ramp”.Â
True to her words, she has curated AND around the concepts of comfort, luxury, elegance, and yet simply everyday looks.Â
With dresses, shirts, gowns, pants, tunics, jumpsuits and much more, AND caters to the urban women with mid-premium, contemporary, global designs with a price range of Rs. 1500 to Rs. 5000 which could drop by Rs.400 or Rs.800 at the End of Season Sales.
Anita Dongre is a name known internationally for her designs and good branding. AND’s USP of affordable fashion has stayed consistent with changing times and trends. In the spring-summer 2020 look book, the designs are created keeping comfort in mind.
Below, you’ll observe that AND is especially fond of waist ties. I believe it gives everybody room to breathe in, move around, and yet keep it chic.
In the above ensemble, the 3/4th sleeve length finished with a band at the end and the shirt- collar give it a formal look while the tie-up detail at the waistline makes gracefully hugs the body.
It takes your wardrobe a notch up on the style quotient while not over-doing it.
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This design gives it a very earthly and calm
vibe, given the color chosen and the simple
design of a brown, sleeveless, cropped top with
thick shoulders, completing the look with a
wrap skirt.
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This gorgeous floral jumpsuit offers the wearer
comfort and makes it easy to move around
while leaving an impression. The waist tie
accentuating the feminine body seals the deal
of comfort and fashion making it a good-to-go
Sunday brunch outfit.
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Knots
Collars – be it a round, johnny or a shirt collar
Comfortable fit.
Practical
Aesthetics
Designer Label
AND checks all the right boxes for a thoughtful and comfortable investment.
