Top Notch | Anamika Khanna is AK-OK

To have a mass brand opening a fashion week is an unusual thing indeed, the inaugural show is usually a prestigious affair. But when the label belongs to Anamika Khanna, the brilliant couturier and often the ghost of the fashion world, the exception will still drive in the crowds. Of course it helps that Khanna’s young AK-OK label has Reliance Brands as partner, Reliance’s Rise also puts together the fashion week. But that’s a niggle when you witness such chic by one woman. “A ghost? That’s an exaggeration,” says Khanna, 51, who lives and works out of Kolkata, away from the din and noise of Mumbai and Delhi, only to show up every few years to yank the rug from under everyone else’s feet. “But I like that I stay away. I only appear when I need to appear, and I don’t feel pressured by anything,” she laughs. “I am where I need to be and when I need to be. Being away is an advantage, the seclusion allows you to focus.” She says, “It’s hard to do a photo shoot in Kolkata for example, but Bengal has some serious talent in terms of craftsmen. You won’t find them anywhere else.” Khanna has had a decades-long career; she celebrates 25 years of her eponymous couture label next year. Even though she has no formal training in fashion, her clothing has dipped hugely into Indian crafts, twisting them in a modern, even tribal manner. Not only would she pick the most elaborate but unusual embroideries, her shapes were truly original. She brought the dhoti pants to the mainstream lexicon, wore a cape with everything, and paired a sari with leggings. She became the industry’s gold standard for carving her own design language, and sticking to it. Khanna says she fell in love with everything that was Indian very early on. “Everyone thought India was just an outsourcing hub, that Indian clothes were just for occasions or costumes. Indians would wear western clothes but westerners would not wear Indian clothes. I thought Indian clothes needed a refresh, I just wanted to make our clothes cool again,” she says. “One thing hasn’t changed over the years is the subtlety, that’s been our constant,” she notes. “Even when we do a lot of opulence, it isn’t a lot!” Khanna is always picking newer textiles and textures, and thrives on experimentation. “I think I have changed. Earlier I was working with trends and forecasts, now I am more instinctive. I’m putting more of my heart than my mind into the clothes now.” Sounds like baloney if you saw her AK-OK opening show. Such a clever, clever line-up of mostly-white separates. Shirts, tees, skirts, shorts, pants, ruches, prints, deconstruction – better to throw out my notebook and just soak in the vibe. I tell her I was very worried about AK-OK when she launched it in 2019 because I always thought easy couture was her schtick. “The seeds of a RTW label came much earlier on. People would always be taking clothes off my back, literally, she laughs. Someone got a jacket, someone a cape. “But I realised that people wanted to be stylish every day and not be dressed in embroidery. There was an important gap in the market,” she says. AK-OK is named by her kids when she was in hospital recovering from a serious illness, Viraj and Vishesh told her she would be: “OK, everything would be OK, everything would be AK-OK”. “At first we thought it would be clothes for the millennials, but then I seen stylish women in their 70s pick them up too. So yeah, they are a lifestyle,” she avers. “Everything is OK, your age, your gender, your size, your pronouns. We are for all of you.” Khanna’s AK-OK is now a 40:60 joint venture with Reliance Brands, with the retail giant having the majority. “It’s not a cash sale, I haven’t sold my stake. But they facilitate what we are doing and make things available to us. It’s been such a learning process thanks to them,” she says. Khanna wants AK-OK to develop as a bridge between RTW and luxury, a serious brand that’s based out of India but has wings everywhere. More stores, in India and abroad, as well as better online visibility, are on the cards. Much of her pace comes from being a business woman who is also a mother. She’s often disregarded who was doing what, but believed in working at her own pace. “I design for love, I want to make beautiful things. My relationships with my children and family are important to me too. We are nothing without love, and that translates into my profession too.” India is always, always on her mind. “My whole life has gone in taking our melting pot of crafts and making them contemporary, like tribal crafts on a bomber jacket. I have this thing: when I die I really want people to say ‘of shit, I’m going to have nothing to wear’,” she laughs. Anamika Khanna will live long, because everything turns out just AK-OK. Namrata Zakaria is a seasoned writer and editor, and a chronicler of social and cultural trends. Her first book, on late fashion designer Wendell Rodricks’ Moda Goa museum, is due to be published shortly. Zakaria is especially known for her insider’s take on fashion, luxury and social entrepreneurship in India. Her writing is appreciated for shaping opinions, busting myths, making reputations and sometimes breaking the odd career. Zakaria is also involved in putting together philanthropic efforts in the field of economic and environmental sustainability. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.