Women don’t need to wear pants to show they are the bosses

The Mumbai-based designer, who is known for her feminine silhouettes, said a woman can look pretty and powerful at the same time as strength is something which comes from within. “Everything I create has to be very feminine, comfortable and classic. So, for me the whole concept that a strong woman should wear masculine clothes is wrong. Women are women. They should dress like women. We are not here to compete with men. Our strength is inside us,” Anita told.

The designer, who was the first to launch an affordable women office wear brand with ‘AND’, said she finds the concept of power-dressing partial and patriarchal. “I was the first designer to do dresses for office wear. A woman doesn’t need to wear pants to show she is the boss. She can look equally good in a salwar-kameez or a saree or a pretty dress.Power doesn’t come from clothes it comes from within. The whole idea of power-dressing is botched up.” 

Anita said more than women, she would like to see men switch to the feminine side of their clothing. “I would love to see men back in dhoti and lungi. These are clothes which are soft and drape well. I believe that is the feminine aspect of men’s clothing in India but it is somewhere lost. Indian weather calls for this fluidity in clothes,” she said. 

The designer was talking on the sidelines of Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2019 where she presented her new collection “Summer Reveire” in collaboration with Tencel in an off-site show at Taj Lands End.