Biography
Founded in 1995, House of Anita Dongre includes four separate brands: AND, a western wear brand; Global Desi, a contemporary line; Grassroot; a sustainable luxury brand; and jewellery line Pinkcity.
In 2017, Dongre opened her first international store, Grassroot, in Manhattan. After the Duchess of Cambridge wore one of her dresses during a royal tour of India, demand for designer in the US exploded, crashing her website. Her designs have also been worn by Beyoncé, Hillary Clinton and the Jonas Brothers when they attended the wedding of Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra .
“The handcrafted traditions of India really need a global platform, and New York is the best place to start,” she told The New York Times. By the end of 2016, Dongre was the seventh most searched designer on Google.
Dongre studied fashion design at SNDT Women’s University in her hometown of Mumbai, after which she designed and supplied designs for many of the country’s leading boutiques for 12 years, before launching her label.
In India, the company has over 1000 points of sale, in more than 100 cities. With a focus on sustainability and eco-consciousness, her cruelty-free creations were recognised at the PETA Approved Vegan Fashion Awards in 2013. In 2015, the company’s headquarters moved to an ergonomically designed building in Navi Mumbai. Anita Dongre works with artisans and women’s groups around the country, including non-profit organisation Women Weave.
Dongre sought a chief executive in Kavindra Mishra, formerly CEO and MD of Pepe Jeans India, appointing him to the helm of the company in April 2019.
Fortune India counts her among their “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” lists, while hers is the only fashion house in the country to have received investment from private equity firm General Atlantic. She is often referred to by the Indian media as the “Queen of Prêt”.
Dongre has also appeared at the World Economic Forum at Davos, speaking in two panel discussions: "Three Trillion Reasons To Help The World Spend Better" and "The Fashion CEO Agenda Roundtable."