What makes Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla true maximalists
livemint.comapsaras Rambha and Sambha, carved in wood. Holding the 200 sq. ft room is a Manjit Bawa painting, depicting a cow and a leopard, their tongues out, forming an infinity sign.
Once the eyes get used to the spectacle, a theme emerges: unabashed maximalism. That’s what underscores Jani and Khosla’s design vocabulary as well. Four decades ago, when the Indian fashion industry was in its nascent stages and synthetic chiffon was all the rage, the self-taught designers, both in their 20s then, decided to elevate traditional embroideries by marrying them with pure fabrics to create “a new form of luxury".
In 1986, they launched their first ever collection, crafted from silk, brocade and chiffon, at their Juhu boutique, Mata Hari, which grabbed the attention of actors and personalities like Dimple Kapadia, Jaya Bachchan and Parmeshwar Godrej. By the 1990s and 2000s, British actor Judi Dench was wearing their chikankari jackets on the red carpet. Soon, Jani and Khosla started designing lavish homes and film costumes (they won a National award for 2002’s Devdas), launched sub-brands Asal (diffusion line, in 2016), Mard (for men, 2019) and Gulabo (pret-a-porter, 2018), and opened five stores in Delhi, Goa and Mumbai.
In 2022, they joined hands with Reliance Brands Ltd (the company acquired a 51% stake in the brand). Earlier this year, when entrepreneur Isha Ambani Piramal wore a blouse embellished with jadau jewellery, it led to much chatter on social media about how much embellishment is too much. It’s about being extra “without being OTT", says Khosla.
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