Anamika Khanna chats with us about gender fluidity in her designs, and the only fashion rule being to break the rules. Read on…
The world saw Anamika Khanna and H&M collaborate for a recent collection that seamlessly combined a sense of relaxedness and rich craftsmanship. Full of free-flowing silhouettes, capes, dresses, tailoring, bold prints, jewellery and accessories, it seems like the perfect collection for a bride who wants to take her look straight from day to night. In fact, many of the pieces from the collection are perfect to wear at a beach wedding. With stunning, breezy kaftans being a part of the collection, it seems one can easily carry the ensembles in a resort-wear and Indian wedding set-up!
Apart from this, there are some stellar pieces that the designer has crafted with a particular concept and appreciation in mind. Which is what she has shared with us in this chat with our editor Chaiti Narula. Read on to know more…
Manifest: Can you share a childhood memory that still influences your aesthetic today?
Anamika Khanna: It’s very painful [jokingly], this childhood memory, in the sense that in every photograph of mine, I’m somehow dressed in one Indian traditional outfit. I wonder if they were using me as some costume prop. I don’t know what was happening! But yes, I’ve always somehow seen all my pictures with me completely dressed up. My parents also tell me that they gave me reels of thread to play with, and I have this running joke, that I’m still playing with reels of thread.
M: Your designs often blur lines between men’s wear and women’s wear, what excites you about the fluid approach to fashion?
AK: The fluidity of fashion. The freedom to be or to be able to do whatever you feel like. That’s what is exciting.
M: Can you share the story behind the long coat from your latest collection? What does it represent to you?
AK: The long coat that we’ve done in this collection is really special, it very easily blends into an Indian space, it can be worn literally like a coat, with a pair of jeans and boots, but one can also drape a sari underneath it, or even wear a pair of dhoti pants underneath it. The crafts that we’ve used are from different parts of India, and it’s literally like a melting pot of where I belong.
M: How would you describe your personal style in three words?
AK: Subtle, relaxed and experimental.
M: Are there any style rules you like to break, or any that you always follow?
AK: I think my main style rule is that it needs to be broken and that’s how you move forward and that’s how you discover.
Harshita Singh is a Digital Writer at Manifest and besides obsessing over aesthetic ‘IT Girl’ Sunday reset reels on Instagram, she finds joy in going down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories, exploring new wellness practices and being mildly addicted to oat-milk coffees. View Profile
