Maximum fashion

Designers Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla crave the complex, the multi-layered and the divinely detailed

- REYA MEHROTRA

Perhaps Radhika Merchant’s most sought-after look at the recent Ambani wedding was the handpainted lehenga she wore for the blessings ceremony, created by Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla (AJSK). According to the duo, the idea for using an artist to hand-paint the lehenga came from film producer and celebrity stylist Rhea Kapoor. The designers commissioned artist and sculptor Jayasri Burman to create a 12-panelled painting with human figures sitting under pink huèd clouds, surrounded by flora and fauna. “Jayasri painted for eight to ten hours a day for a month to create her magical work on Italian canvas,” Abu and Sandeep tell THE WEEK in an exclusive interview. “So engrossed was she that her brush began dancing on the canvas. Our atelier then took over. We embroidered the entire lehenga in lavish zardozi set alight with thousands of sequins. The blouse was entirely embroidered in multicolour resham.”

Ever since the Ambanis bought a 40 per cent stake in MM Styles Ltd, which owns Manish Malhotra’s eponymous fashion house, in 2021, and a 51 per cent stake in AJSK the following year, they have been making use of their investment. At Anant and Radhika’s wedding, many of the guests, along with the Ambanis themselves, were wearing outfits designed by Malhotra and AJSK.

In the past, Abu and Sandeep have also designed for the weddings of the other Ambani children—Akash and Isha. The planning and conceptualisation of the Anant-Radhika wedding began 18 months ago. “Every garment was a masterpiece, created with total dedication and absolute love,” they say. “And each outfit was unique and stood apart. It took between eight and 24 artisans, and up to four months to make each outfit.”