The Art OF DOING MORE with less

Meet Abnit Nijjar—the philophile now guiding womenswear at Jil Sander

- Drishti Vij

A protégé of the ingenious Phoebe Philo, Abnit Nijjar became the design director of womenswear at Jil Sander over a year ago after working at Céline (back when it had the accent) for six years. Both fashion houses, Jil Sander and Céline, were once known for their puristic visions— focusing on abstraction over extroversion; classic over cool; simplicity over ornamentation.

In contrast to this, Nijjar’s childhood was vibrantly unrestrained and it makes one wonder how a London-born Punjabi girl ended up in a universe where less is always more.

“My Indian heritage scrambled to compete with my British identity. My parents are Punjabi but my mother was born in Kenya and grew up in England. My sense of belonging to one culture was a little confused and the clash of both British reserve and disarming frankness couldn’t have been more contrasted with the overembellished ways I recognised in the ‘Indian’ me. But, this culture clash cultivated my references for dreamy textures, colours, fabrics and craftsmanship alongside the practical reality of living in a cold, rainy city and choosing comfort and ease in dressing,” says Nijjar.