FORA MAMMOTH CAUSE

ANITA DONGRE'S Rewild '23 was a show with a PURPOSE.

- SMITA TRIPATHI

In the first week of November, the City Palace in Jaipur came alive as models sashayed down the sprawling inner courtyard of the 300-year-old structure to the beats of traditional folk singers and percussionists, even as nagada drummers performed on the roof. Life-size elephants sculpted from Lantana—an invasive weed that is destroying Indian forests—lined the runway.

This was Rewild ’23: Fashion for Good—Anita Dongre’s fashion show that raised funds for the Nature Conservation Fund (NCF), an NGO working towards providing a better habitat for elephants.

“It’s been a 10-year desire to work for elephant welfare. Our brand logo is an elephant. But I just didn’t know how to go about it,” says the 60-year-old designer, explaining that it was a chance meeting with Oscar-winning director Kartiki Gonsalves of The Elephant Whisperers who identified the NGO and explained that there was so much work to be done with indigenous communities.  

The collection included everything—from lehengas, cropped skirts and kurtas to dresses, jackets and shorts. Each garment was embellished with indigenous techniques such as gota patti, hand-painted pichwai and embroidery—an ode to the crafts of Rajasthan.