Lakme India Fashion Week 2003 :: Anita Dongre

Sensitive to all things creative and linked to fashion design, Anita was thrust towards the world of fashion immediately after schooling. Although the initial years of University were geared towards a Commerce degree, she simultaneously enrolled into the prestigious Indian fashion design school S.N.D.T. and completed the course with flying colors in 1983. Wanting to give back to her Alma Mater, she began teaching at S.N.D.T. and continued to do so for 2 years.

Anita's urge for putting her design skills into practice got her into establishing her Ethnic Indian wear studio and began retailing her brand Masque. Subsequently, she began supplying her designs to renowned stores such as Sheetal in India, Damini in London and a host of stores in Vancouver, Singapore, Durban, Dar-e-Salem and Dubai. She continues to supply her Indian Ethnic designs in these markets.

Anita then made a gradual transition towards launching her western women's wear label AND in mid-1999. Market sensitivity and a keen understanding of the growing Indian woman's need for comfortable, stylish, branded and affordable clothing was the primary factor in the positioning of the AND label. While AND retails in Mumbai from one of India's premier malls Crossroads with another store located at Linking Road, one of Mumbai's shopping hot spots, and at New Delhi from South Extn 1, plans for turning AND into a national brand are underway . The AND label is also sold nation wide through the Lifestyle chain stores.

A recent achievement by Anita is her Indian pret collection being retailed at the Westside chain of stores nationally under the label ANITA DONGRE for Westside and is a promising brand at this high profile lifestyle store across India. Anita is the first designer selected by Westside to sell under her own label.

A couture design label has always been one of Anita's dreams. Having been involved for over 15 years with the fashion world, she successfully launched her couture label ANITA DONGRE in august 2000 at the CPD Dusseldorf fair in Germany. Anita Was the only Indian designer invited by the Igedo Company Dusseldorf and The Indo German Chamber of Commerce to represent India at the fair and her collections were showcased in the finale of the CPD Fashion show, a rare honor to the only Indian designer to date. The ANITA DONGRE label is a fitting combination of the exemplary world of Indian creative crafts and a line that will be known for its clean cuts and simplistic value.

The Collection is available at the ANITA DONGRE studio at Om Chambers, Kemps corner, Mumbai.

Anita's urge for putting her design skills into practice got her into establishing her Ethnic Indianwear studio and she began retailing under the label Masque. Subsequently, she began supplying her designs to renowned stores such as Sheetal in India, Damini in London and a host of stores in cities like Vancouver, Singapore, and Dubai. She continues to supply her Indian Ethnic Designs in these markets. Anita then made a gradual transition and launched her western women's wear label AND in mid-1999. AND retails in Mumbai from India's premier mall, Crossroads and other stores located in Mumbai and New Delhi.

Having been involved for over 15 years with the fashion world, she felt it apt to launch her couture label ANITA DONGRE. The ANITA DONGRE label is a fitting combination of the exemplary world of Indian creative crafts, clean cuts and simplistic value. With Anita's positive understanding of an international look, the ANITA DONGRE label was appropriately launched at an international forum - IGEDO in August 2000. The Collection is available at the ANITA DONGRE studio at Om Chambers, Kemps Corner, Mumbai. Tel: 022-3681964.

E-mail: anita_dongre