Think East,Go West ​​​​​​​

Anita Dongre’s label Grassroot has a spanking new store in the hip New York neighbourhood of Soho, and she shares the excitement with Aditi Rao.

Within a span of two decades Mumbai-based designer Anita Dongre has established herself as one of the most bankable names in the Indian fashion industry with successful brands like AND, Global Desi her eponymous couture line. In 2016, she was among Google’s top 10 most-searched fashion designers in the world. The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton too chose to her label during her highly publicised, and much photographed, visit to India that year.

In other words, Dongre is not a designer who’s had to choose between commercial and critical success. But what excites her the most is a special design project, called Grassroot. This label with sustainability at its core has only been active for two years, but its mission is to present Indian craft on a global platform. The launch of its first international store in New York is a big step in that direction.