IT TAKES TWO
Harper's Bazaar India|March 2020
Designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla on new terrains, old crafts, and making their own future
Butool Jamal
IT TAKES TWO

In 1989 actor Dimple Kapadia, star of the film Bobby (1973), was photographed in a campaign wearing a velvet, high-collared men’s sherwani. The image was for designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, who had opened their first store, Mata Hari, just three years before in 1986 in Juhu, Mumbai. The gender-bending sherwani might be hailed as cutting-edge in the current conversations about gender-fluid dressing, when images of women in power suits and men in skirts still get feted. But for the Mumbai-based duo, designing is never according to gender; or even age, sexual orientation, or any of the other categories we’ve constructed for ourselves. “It’s about beauty,” says Jani, “that’s what we’re always looking for. There has to be emotion and poetry behind what you do.”

This tireless pursuit of beauty has led the longtime partners and colleagues to become masters of craft. Their work is defined by detailed threadwork embroideries—from subtle white on white chikankari, to intricate aari, shimmering real gold or silver zardozi, metallic mukaish patterns, and graphic use of mirror work. On lavish bridal lehengas, saris, and voluminous anarkalis, their colourful patterns demonstrate the skill and painstaking hours of work that go into each hand-stitched piece.

Just one skirt, for example, embroidered in Tharad— a region in Gujarat known for its unique threadwork— can take upto six months to finish. They push their karigars to excel, champion the purity of age-old techniques, and help maintain the craft’s status as covetable luxury.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2020-Ausgabe von Harper's Bazaar India.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2020-Ausgabe von Harper's Bazaar India.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS HARPER'S BAZAAR INDIAAlle anzeigen
Filler Fatigue
Harper's Bazaar India

Filler Fatigue

With worries about facial distortion and a shift towards the natural, is it time to sav goodbye to these corrective tweaks?

time-read
4 Minuten  |
October - November, 2024
Mind-Skin Connection
Harper's Bazaar India

Mind-Skin Connection

Is il possible for your skincare to communicate with your brain:

time-read
3 Minuten  |
October - November, 2024
Tailored for the Game
Harper's Bazaar India

Tailored for the Game

Fashion meets sports as U.S. Polo Assn. names Sawai Padmanabh Singh of ol Jaipur’ s royal family its global ambassador.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
October - November, 2024
Reimagined Classic
Harper's Bazaar India

Reimagined Classic

Louis Vuitton launches the Neverfull Inside Out bag, transforming the icon into a fully reversible tote.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
October - November, 2024
Italian Muse
Harper's Bazaar India

Italian Muse

Guecr's new high jew ellery collection isa stroll through the country’s picturesque gardens.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
October - November, 2024
Co Gs Art Post, Gas Art Pas New CELSIOR Net Lay the show Neking ble e dh PATRON An TH Fotal 24 ANAR Romantics
Harper's Bazaar India

Co Gs Art Post, Gas Art Pas New CELSIOR Net Lay the show Neking ble e dh PATRON An TH Fotal 24 ANAR Romantics

Romcoms might not have prepared me for modern dating, but they offered a timeless sartorial guide to falling in love.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
October - November, 2024
Making a Case for India's Ingenuity
Harper's Bazaar India

Making a Case for India's Ingenuity

William Dalrymple says The Golden Road is an extraordinary story but also the most challenging book he has written in the last two decades.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
October - November, 2024
On My Playlist
Harper's Bazaar India

On My Playlist

Playback singer turned indie-pop artiste Dhee talks about music, identity, and empowering a new generation.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
October - November, 2024
Explicitly Bold
Harper's Bazaar India

Explicitly Bold

The latest lipstick range by Nars is designed to empower wearers with colour and confidence.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
October - November, 2024
Art in a Bottle
Harper's Bazaar India

Art in a Bottle

The Perfume Library founder Jahnvi Lakhota Nandan believes fragrances are meant to be liberated.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
October - November, 2024