FAMOUS INDIAN FASHION DESIGNERS
ANITA DONGRE
Anita Dongre (born October 3, 1963) is one of the most successful and popular fashion designers of India. She was born and raised in Bandra, Mumbai. Anita studied Fashion Design at the S.N.D.T. Fashion Institute in Mumbai. In 1998, she started And Designs India Ltd.(ADIL) with her sister Meena Sehra and brother Mukesh Sawlani. Anita is married to Pravin Dongre, an influential businessman and they have a son Yash, who is also an integral part of And Designs India Limited. Anita is a vegan and a member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Anita had decided, even at the early age of 12, that she wanted to be a fashion designer. She had an unrelenting passion for creativity and design. After completing the fashion designing course at Mumbai's SNDT college, she started designing and supplying Indian wear for 12 years to almost all the famous boutiques in Mumbai. Though the heavily embroidered Indian wear did good business at the boutiques, she realized that the fashion conscious Indian went abroad to buy western wear.
Having travelled abroad extensively she had seen the changing trends and a seed of an idea of starting her own label was born. Not only did Anita decide to create her own label, she decided to retail it herself and thus her company And Designs India Limited was born, in 1998. She launched her first label AND at a 300 sq feet shop in Mumbai’s first mall, Crossroads. Today her brands AND (western wear) Global Desi (Indo-western) and her signature label Anita Dongre (Timeless - bespoke bridal wear, Iinterpret - pret label, Grassroot - eco friendly label and AD Menswear) sell from more than 550 stores across India, including multi brand outlets. Anita also has a bespoke jewellery line Pinkcity.
A rare collection of jewellery designed using highly skilled traditional Rajasthani craftsmanship, Meenakari and Jadau. Her eponymous labels have enhanced many an award show, global red carpet events, international catwalks and the pages of all the top end fashion glossies. Not surprisingly, ‘Queen of Prêt’ is how the fraternity and media address her. For FY 2013-14 And Designs India Limited estimates to achieve a turnover of 350 Crores. General Atlantic a leading private investment firm has recently made an investment in ADIL. She featured on the cover of the November issue of FORTUNE as one of the 50 most powerful women in business. Anita Dongre is on the advisory board of Lakme Fashion Week 2014 and is also a Gen Next mentor for the same.
