Anamika Khanna Height, Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Anamika Khanna

• Anamika Khanna is an Indian fashion designer famously known for her designer brands Anamika Khanna (Indian) and Ana-Mika (international). Her designs are famous globally and have been worn by famous celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Arianna Huffington, Tichina Arnold, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Kiara Advani and many more. A quote said by Anamika Khanna,
  

  There is enough noise in the world; my clothes don’t need to add to it. My clothes are for people who are okay to follow the slightly unbeaten path and yet find their own space.”

• She was a painter and classical dancer before making her career into fashion designing. She had no professional degree or experience when she entered the fashion industry, but she attended workshops which were hosted by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London during early days in her career.

• Her career took a flight after she received the Damania Fashion Award in 1995. Her first six garments were made for the Damania Fashion Award. She launched her clothing brand Anamika Khanna in 1998. In an interview, she talked about the experience of her early days in an interview,
  

  This award thing came (Damania Fashion Awards), I sent my sketches, I won the award, they asked me to make six garments… that was a panic attack because I had never made clothes before! But when it came to me, I was like ‘I love the idea’. So then it struck me that if I have to do it I’ll have to really do this well. I said let me not go to the market and buy fabric and go to the tailor to make garments, let me figure out how to create something which has not been thought of or done. I bought a book on African textiles, then I started creating textures looking at those Shuar textiles. Once that happened I started thinking of shapes, different things…. I don’t know how it all started.

• Her first garment was sold from the collection which she made for Damania Fashion Awards, this collection was seen by Yashodhara Shroff (fashion designer) who is the owner of apparel brand ‘ffolio’ in Banglore, and she decided to sell Anamika’s collection through her brand ‘ffolio.’ She was invited to Bridal Asia exhibition held in Pakistan in 2003 to showcase her collection.

• According to Anamika, she considers fashion designers Prasad Bidapa, Ritu Kumar and Monapali as her mentors who helped and guided her in her career’s early days. In an interview, she was asked about the best part of her job, to which she replied,
  

  The day I am going to be able to make the simplest garment perfectly without a single piece of embroidery or work… it needs to be flawless, needs to feel like butter on the body… that day I will be like I have done it. I am not ready for it yet. What we do is endless… this constant learning, this constant movement is a beautiful thing. And brides… it’s such a beautiful moment… somebody told me recently that so many parents must be giving you blessings every day… when the daughters feel so happy on their special day… such a nice thing to say, it touched my heart.

• In 2004, she launched her international brand Ana-Mika, which became one of the few Indian brands to be launched in an international market. She was among 33 designers who were given an invitation to participate in India’s first Lakme India Fashion Week which was held in New Delhi. She was approached to do a three-designer show, where she had a booth that she had to share with the other two designers to showcase her apparel collection. She opened her first clothing store in Kolkata. Her flagship store at 2/1 Outram Street, at a lane off Theatre Roadways, was started in 2004.

• In 2007, Anamika Khanna became the first Indian woman to showcase her designer collection at Paris Fashion Week. In an interview with Vogue, she said,
  

  I showed in Paris Fashion Week (2007). So it was my biggest learning ever… itni pitai hui hai na mentally you cannot imagine, I’ve had my clothes thrown out, I’ve been told ‘what do you think you’re doing’. And then to think of pricing, deliveries… it was a very big learning on how to professionalise… what are seasons, what are collections.

• In 2010, after her participation in the London Fashion Week, 2010, her global brand Ana-Mika was offered an exclusive contract by British Retail Giant Harrod’s.

• In 2013, she was a part of the BOF (Business of Fashion) 500 list. Her signature look is cowl-shaped dresses that closely resembled the dhoti worn by Mahatma Gandhi and couture which gives a blend of traditional and modern in her every collection. ^[3]Business Of Fashion

• In 2015, Simi Garewal (an Indian actress and a talk show hostess) gifted a 10 kg velvet lehenga to Lady Gaga, designed by Anamika Khanna, when Lady Gaga came as her celebrity guest at her talk show: Simi Selects- India’s Most Desirable. The lehenga was studded with pearls, gold and silver. ^[4]Hindustan Times

• In 2015, Anamika Khanna showcased her ‘khadi collection’ at a fashion show organised by FDCI in collaboration with the Gujarat State Khadi and Village Industries Board at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel National Memorial in Ahmedabad. The fashion show was organised in relation with PM Narendra Modis’ made in India project. The fashion designers Rajesh Partap Singh and Rohit Bal also joined her in this fashion show. ^[5]Rediff
  

• According to Anamika, famous personalities like fashion designers like Karl Lagerfeld, Vivienne Westwood, and famous international singers like Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner had a major influence on her to join the fashion industry. Amongst all, she considers Madonna to be her fashion inspiration during her early career days. In an interview, she said,
  

  Madonna… like I said when I started there wasn’t so much knowledge available, you just got bits and pieces of information in magazines… so when Material Girl came, when all those songs of her came and that avatar of hers, the way she dressed! Madonna kept reinventing her look every single season, every single song! It was really amazing how she was doing it… like you change your clothes, but how do you change your body type, your hair each time?

• In 2017, Anamika Khanna was invited by Elizabeth II, The Queen of the United Kingdom and The Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace during the official start of UK-India Year of Culture.
  

• She along with her sons Viraj Khanna and Vishesh Khanna launched a ready-to-wear Spring/Summer limited edition collection by the title ‘Everything is AK-OK’ in 2020 which was worn by famous Bollywood actresses such as Sonam Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.
  

• Her clothing creations are worn by various national celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Kapoor, and international celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Arianna Huffington, Tichina Arnold and many more at various events.
  

• She has designed costumes and apparel for various Bollywood movies such as Fashion (2008), Aisha (2010), Mausam (2011), and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013).