India is popular for its rich and authentic culture. People from all over the world appreciate the vibrant yet subtle clothing India produces. The designers of India know exactly which color or fabric or design goes well with the particular occasion. Do you want to know more about the famous fashion designers in India?
Famous Fashion Designers in India: Want to know more?
Here’s the list of the top 15 fashion designers of India who are standing as a big competition for the top designers all over the world. Indian designers are hired by some of the popular international celebrities.
1. Sabyasachi Mukherjee
Sabyasachi is one of the leading fashion designers in India but also a jewelry designer, retailer, and couturier who belongs to Kolkata, India. He graduated from NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology) in 1999. He started his own fashion line with the label “Sabyasachi”. The good news is he is the youngest board member of the National Museum of Indian cinema and also one of the Associate designer members of the Fashion design council of India.
Sabyasachi began working on his own designs with a workforce of only four, after four months of his graduation. He has designed costumes for the movies- Guzaarish, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Baabul, Raavan, and English Vinglish. The power couples Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma-Virat Kohli, and Priyanka Chopra-Nick Jonas wore customized Sabyasachi fits for their weddings.
Many celebrities like Vidya Balan, Samatha, Tabu, Sri Devi, Sushmita Sen, Rani Mukherjee, and the entire Ambani family wore his designs. International stars like Reese Witherspoon and Reene Zellweger have worn his label.
2. Manish Malhotra
Manish Malhotra was born on 5th December 1996. He was born and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He is a famous Indian designer, couturier, costume stylist, entrepreneur, and filmmaker. You might know this but he received several awards for his work in Bollywood, Telugu, Tamil, Hollywood, and the Fashion industries. One of the significant awards he received is the Priyadarshini Award for his contribution to the Indian Fashion industry.
Filmfare introduced ‘The best costume design’ award in 1996 to felicitate Malhotra for his work in the film Rangeela starring Aamir Khan, Jackie Shroff, and Urmila Matondkar.
He made his first designing debut for the film Swarg starring Govinda and Juhi Chawla. He always attends the script readings of the films cuz he believes that they give the perfect idea of how the designs need to look. The costumes for Karan John’s Kuch Kuch Hota hai brought great fame. He also designed costumes for the famous movies Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kal Ho Na Ho, Jab We Met, Dostana, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and the list goes on.
3. Ritu Kumar
Another famous fashion designer in India is Padma Shri Ritu Kumar. She is one of the most talented female designers in the entire world. She owns one of the oldest labels. Ritu started her fashion business with just two tables and block printing. She designed Wedding wear and evening gowns in the ’70s. She launched Label in partnership with her son Amrish Kumar. Her other son is Ashvin Kumar is an Oscar-nominated director.
Her company slowly grew up and expanded internationally. The turnover was about ₹10 billion, which was the highest at that time. Kumar focuses primarily on carrying the culture with traditional designs, block-printing, and weaving techniques. She’s also included western but her main interest remains on sarees.
Kumar’s designs were worn by Princess Diana, Lara Dutta, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Priyanka Chopra, Kalki Koechlin, Diya Mirza, and many more.
Ritu Kumar Label caught the eye of around 1.5 million users in 2019. The website is handled by Digital impressions. They invested in a server to control the online traffic during the wedding seasons because who wouldn’t want to wear Ritu Kumar’s Designs for their wedding?!
4. Masaba Gupta
Masaba’s designs are a perfect blend of traditional, quirky, and modernity which is exactly what women these days look for. She was born on 2nd November in 1989 to Neena Gupta Indian film actress and Cricketer Viv Richards in Mumbai. Her parents never got married, her mother brought her up and moved the family from New Delhi to Mumbai. Her schooling was highly disturbed and she claims it was due to the Racism she faced and homesickness sometimes.
When she was 19 years old, she applied for Lakme fashion week. She named her First collection kattran which translates to “miniature bits of fabric”. Her Lakme fashion week’s collection was named Wanderess which was inspired by the novel written by Roman Payne named “Wanderess”. Masaba is known for the creative names she gives to her Collections. Her fashion label “House of Masaba” was launched in 2009.
She launched a hijab saree line for women who want to embrace Indian fashion and culture, in 2018. Netflix released a TV series, starring Masaba and her mother Neena Gupta named “Masaba Masaba”. The duo shows a glimpse of their life with fashion and film.
5. Neeta Lulla
Neeta Lulla is among the top-class famous designers and stylists. She has been designing wedding dresses since 1985. She has worked on more than 300 films till now. The film “Devdas” in which Lulla styled Aishwarya Rai Bacchan and Madhuri Dixit Nene brought her great fame.
She designed the film “Mohenjo Daro” in 2016. She also designed outfits for a South Indian film “GautamiPutra Satakarni”
Neeta is famous for the ancient technique she used to create fabric called Paithani. One of her collections of Paithani was shown in an exhibit at the Make in India initiative in February 2016. Neeta Lulla opened a fashion school in 2013 “The Whistling Woods” International School of fashion. The school is presently owned by Subash Ghai. He worked with Lulla on many films.
6. Anamika Khanna
Anamika was born in Jodhpur on 19th July 1971. Initially, she was a classical dancer and a painter before entering the field of Fashion designing. She operates her Studio from Kolkata and her designs are sold online and offline. She has many stores all over India and also outside the country. Anamika is the first Indian designer to own an international label “Ana Mika”. She participated at the Paris Fashion Week in 2007 along with Manish Arora and in 2008 in HDIL Couture week where she presented Cowl dresses which made her work even more significant.
She took part in various Lakme fashion weeks and in 2009 she became the final design for the (Fall/Winter) edition. In 2012 at the Delhi couture week she showcased her work where Signature Dhoti pants with saree drapes and floor-length jackets appreciated.
Sonam Kapoor wore her creations to the Cannes red carpet gala for three years straight (2013, 2014 & 2016), Kapoor sisters always don Khanna’s designs. We might as well call her their favorite. Kareena Kapoor Khan wore her work at Lakme fashion week in 2015 and many other red carpet events. Last in the list but definitely not the least, Mira Kapoor chose not one but four of her designs for her wedding ceremony. She wore a customized Anamika lehenga for her wedding.
Sonakshi Sinha, Deepika Padukone, Madhuri Dixit, Sri Devi, and many other B town celebs appeared in her designs. Anamika created a revolution in the Indian Fashion industry. Oprah donned Anamika’s outfits for several events like the Women in the world summit and the Black Panther reception.
7. Anita Dongre
Anita is one of the leading famous fashion designers in India. She was born on 3rd October 1963 in Bandra, West Mumbai. She pursued her degree in fashion designing at SNDT College, Mumbai. House of Anita Dongre consisted of Anita Dongre Pink City (Jewellery), AND (Western collection), and Global desi (Boho-Chic). Later AND & Global desi were shifted to grass-root.
Her siblings manage the company and she focuses on designing. She married to Pravin Dongre and has a son Yash Dongre who also takes care of the family business. Anita is also an active member of PETA – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
8. Rohit Bal
When you talk about the famous fashion designers in India you cannot miss out on Rohit Bal. He was born on 8th May 1961 in Jammu and Kashmir. He graduated from NIFT Delhi. His first independent collection was released in the year 1990. He designed the costumes for the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati which was Amitabh Bacchan’s show. His designs are based on Rich Indian Culture and Royalty. He opened his stores all over India.
His flagship is in Delhi and the stores are in Mumbai, Banglore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Chennai. He is also an ambassador for Omega watches. Bal won many designers of the year awards over the course of years. You can find his clothing on his official website Rohit Bal.
9. Tarun Tahiliani
Tahiliani is one of the best fashion designers in India and the world. He is co-founder of India’s first multi-designer boutique with his wife Sailaja ‘Sal’ Tahiliani in 1987. He also established Tahiliani design studio in 1990. His designs are the perfect blend of Traditional heritage with Modern aesthetics. Over the course of years, he became quite popular for his Bridal collection.
He is not only a Fashion designer but also an Interior designer. He designed interiors for hotels, restaurants, resorts, and homes all over India. Tahiliani obtained a degree in Business Management from the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania.
While studying in the US, he met ‘Sal’ through mutual friends. The couple instantly fell in love and got married as soon as they returned to India. Sailaja was a model and she modeled for brands like Pierre Cardin.
In 1991, he went to FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) to pursue fashion. He was first noticed in 1995 when British Heiress Jemima Khan wore one of his designs for her wedding to Imran Khan. Since then they didn’t have to look back. Tarun also worked with “Save the Children ” India.
10. Anju Modi
Anju Modi is the founder member of the Fashion design council of India and she’s been performing her duties to the mark. She designed costumes for the films Ramleela and Bajirao Mastani. Anju won the Filmfare award for the best costume design in 2016.
She collaborates with Artisans all over the country and also has a keen interest in the field of traditional embroidery, block-printing, and vegetable dyeing. Top actresses like Madhuri Dixit Nene, Kriti Sanon, Kangana Ranaut, Kareena Kapoor, and Jacqueline Fernandez are often seen flaunting her designs.
11. Manish Arora
Manish Arora graduated from NIFT in New Delhi in 1994. He also won the best student award. He left the company in May 2012 due to some issues.
In 1997, Manish launched his famous Label ‘Manish Arora’. After three years he participated in the first-ever India Fashion Week and also represented India at the Hong Kong Fashion Week.
Arora launched his second label in 2001 which is a sportswear line associated with Reebok named ‘Fish fry’. Another successful showing at Indian fashion week earned him a partnership with Maria Luisa (Paris) which was the start of export.
He had a successful exhibit in New York’s fashion week in 2005. Then he expanded his business. He also teamed up with Cosmetics company MAC and Swatch (A Watch Brand) limited edition. He joined hands with Biba Apparel to extend the label even more. In association with Amrapali, Arora made jewelry consisting of Pendants, necklaces, bracelets, and all sorts of hand jewelry. His style is combining traditional embroidery with western silhouettes.
12. Anushree Reddy
Anushree Reddy is one of the best fashion designers in India. Her outfits are known for their gold embellishments and pastel highlights. It’s all about elegance and romance fused with rich Indian culture.
She launched her eponymous label in 2010 after working as a stylist and a fashion editor. That’s when she knew her real talent. ‘Her passion for fashion’ helped her find high-profile takers and in no time she touched the sky. Her first debut was at the ‘Talent box’ of Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2013.
Athiya Shetty, Pragya Jaiswal, Amrita Rao, Taapsee Pannu, and many others wore her designs. Her designs sold in top international brand stores.
13. Sandeep Koshla and Abu Jani
Sandeep Koshla is a noted Indian fashion designer who co-owns the label, Abu Jani – Sandeep Koshla. His signature is combining Indian authenticity with European silhouettes. He was born in Kapurthala, Punjab. Celebrities all over the world wore Koshla’s outfits. Judi Dench wore Koshla’s for BAFTA in 2012.
In 2002, he along with Neeta Lulla, Abu Jani, Reza Sharifi won the National film award for the best costume design for their costume design in Devdas. He is also an interior designer and puts his work into many restaurants and hotels. He has been working on event designing for Indian weddings too.
14. RIMPLE AND HARPREET NARULA
The couple launched their label (RAH) Rimple and Harpreet in 2010 with their flagship store in Defence Colony, Delhi.
The couple opened their second store in Ambawatta, Delhi near the historic Qutub Minar. They are planning to extend their label and open stores in Mumbai and Hyderabad too. They were bought into the Limelight when Sanjay Leela Bhansali hired them to design costumes for the movie Padmavat. It also bought them the opportunity to design outfits for the movies Housefull 4 and Bhool Bhulaiya 2 (an upcoming film).
15. SHYAMAL AND BHUMIKA
These talented love birds launched their label “Shyamal and Bhumika” in 2000. They’ve been together for 18 years and married for a few more! They met through mutual friends when they were 18 and instantly bonded. Their friendship eventually turned into love.
Bhumika studied at NIFT, Ahmedabad whereas Shyamal studied at Central St. Martins in London and then studied Italian design in Millan. Bhumika designed and stitched her own clothes every weekend. Their love for designing and creativity made them bond instantly. Now they’re one of the top labels in India and growing… What could be better than working with your partner and building something beautiful together?!
Summing up:
So, hope this blog gave you a good idea about the leading fashion designers in India. If you want to grow as a fashion designer you need to follow them quickly.
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