Anita Dongre

Fashion Designer - Anita Dongre

When it comes to reputed Indian Fashion Designers, Anita Dongre, the Chief Creative Officer at the House of Anita Dongre (HOAD) is one among the Top 5 on the list. Anita Dongre, the founder of House of Anita Dongre was born in Bandra, Mumbai to a traditional Sindhi family, were women were expected to take up the stereotypical domestic roles of wives and mothers. All her sisters and aunts were leading happy lives in their traditional roles in the family. She spent a lot of time at Jaipur with her grandparents and since then has always noted how limited the opportunities were for her cousins and aunts as they were not allowed to take up jobs outside home.

The initial spark towards designing came to her in her grandparents' city, Jaipur where she used to admire the clothing of the local people, distinct colours of cloths, people of Rajasthan and their cultural architecture.

Anita's fascination with fashion started when she saw her mother, Pushpa Sawlani creating beautiful garments with fabrics for her and her siblings when they where young. Just before her graduation her parents moved to Mumbai, a place were every woman had dreams of having a successful career. Anita shocked her family by taking up internship with the esrtwhile royal family of Dhrangadhra in Gujarat as no woman in her entire family had ever worked outside home before. From there she then joined to Melco Buying Agencies, one of the largest exporters in India of that time where she learned to produce lakhs of products in the cost effective way.

About her personal life, she tied a knot with 'Pravin Dongre', Chairman, India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) . Anita has a son ' Yash Dongre', who is now the Business Head of House of Anita Dongre Limited . Each brands under House of Anita Dongre (HOAD) has its own uniqueness. The first brand "AND" designed contemporary fashion for women (western wear) whereas "Global Desi" which started in 2008 focused on Boho-chic fashion for women which is inspired from the folk tales of India. It was 2012 when she stepped into the Bridal Couture, Menswear and Festival garments with her signature label "Anita Dongre". She was also the first Indian designer to introduce standard sizing in the country for Indian women (8-18 UK Size). Jewellery being a women's first love, she decided to step into Jewellery Designing with her brand "Pinkcity" in 2013, which designed handcrafted gold jadau jewellery (a fine embedded jewellery). Her brand Grassroot, which caters to craft-based sustainable luxury garment segment, stay away from using animal furs and leathers in its collection.

She commenced her involvement with Women's Empowerment by joining SEWA (Self Employed Women's Association) which lead her towards the brand "Grassroot" in the year 2016, which is a tribute to traditional handcraft industry of India.

In 2017, she expanded her network adding 100 stores across five brands which includes the flagship stores in New York and Mauritius. The 4 brands of HOAD (House of Anita Dongre) has 250+ exclusive outlets and 83 multi-brand outlets across India employing around 2800+ people with a retail turnover of 800 crores in FY 2019-20. HOAD had only around 7% of online sales during FY 2017-18. In 2018, when E-Commerce is whipping out the store business 'AND' is getting ready for the online shopping world. When is comes to the Fashion Industry Anita feels that the Fashion Institutes in India are doing a fantastic work in moulding young talents, to resolve relavent issues and create trendy designs.

House of Anita Dongre is situated at Rabale, Navi Mumbai, IN, is surrounded by 2 acres of lushy green hills. The pathway towards the 4 storied building is covered with beautifully trimmed bougainvillea and bushes. Solar panels is the main source of electricity for recycling water and then have also installed compost pits for recycling garbage which makes the industry eco-friendly. The infrastructure is designed to let maximum natural light coming and the scents of the frangipani trees makes it refreshing to work. At present, 'Mukesh Sawlani' her brother a former banker is the Managing Director (Operations) of HOAD , 'Meena Sehra' (younger sister) is the Director of House of Anita Dongre Limited (HOAD) and also incharge of the people and production, 'Deepikesh' (nephew) now heads Digital Strategy .

Dongre says ... “I begged Crossroads to give me a store, and they wouldn’t agree. I wasn’t a known name or a foreign brand. After much convincing, they agreed to give me a tiny 200 sqft store opposite Swarovski. In that first year, we gave Crossroads the highest per square feet sales than any other store in that mall”

Anitha Dongre had specially designed a floral tunic for Kate Middleton, (Duchess of Cambridge) for her visit to India during 2016. By then Dongre's designs were already popular on the Global Fashion industry. The next designs which went viral was, the Yellow Chanderi Salwar designed for Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, wife of Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister for her visit to the Sabarmati Ashram in the same year which had already attracted investors like General Atlantic and Kishore Biyani.

Many Indian celebrities admire the designer collection at the AND store. Dia Mirza became a fan of Dongre, after she got her Royal Blue Lehenga for her 'Sangeet' function in 2004. Karisma Kapoor's white and gold Anarkali which she wore during Arpita Khan's reception was a show stopper.

2008	GR8 Flo Women Achievers Award for "Excellence in Fashion Design" and her brand "AND Designs India Limited" awarded with Best Brand for Women's Wear
2011	Best Brand Ladies Western Wear at the Shoppers Stop Pinnacle Awards event, Inspirational Designer Award" by FDCI Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, Elite Circle of Excellence, Green Industrial Evolution India Award, Shoppers Stop Pinnacle Awards
2012	The Object of Desire Award by Times of India and Retailer Jewellery Award
2013	Excellence in Fashion Design Award by The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Ladies Organization, Bombay Chapter
2014	Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year
2015	Women Entrepreneur of The Year Award by The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India, 15 Glorious Years of Design by Arch Academy of Design, Vogue India Fashion Fund, which recognizes emerging talent in the Indian fashion industry
2016	Excellence in Fashion Design Award by India Merchant Chambers, Zee Media Indian Woman Award, Lifetime Achievement Award for Alumni by Premlila Vithaldas Polytechnic
2017	Best Design Store Concept of the Year Award by Images Group, Most Powerful Women In Indian Business Award by Business Today, Vogue Designer Of The Year, Pantene Shine Award, Grazia Young Fashion Award
2018	Most Admired Fashion Company of the Year by IMAGES Fashion Award, Award for The Best Western wear Brand in India by CMAI, Award for Most Effective Tech Implementation of the Year, Vogue FICCI FLO Icon Award for contribution to the Fashion Industry, National Entrepreneurship Award for her contribution to the fashion industry and her efforts to empower women
2020	Outstanding Entrepreneur - Fashion and Lifestyle at the entrepreneurial leadership conclave Tiecon in Mumbai

Apart from her business, Anita loves to travel and listen to music. Her favourite tour destinations are New York and Paris. She is very much fond of the color White. She follows a vegan diet and her favourite dish is "Hors d'oeurve" (an appetizer or starter dish served before a meal in European cuisine). She is a animal lover and has five pets dogs of her own, Cookie and Buzo being two of them. Anita is fond of Ritambhara, who she considers as her mentor.