Anamika Khanna On AK|OK's LFW Debut, and Showcasing India to the World Responsibly

Fashion designer & RR Circle member Anamika Khanna has long made it her mission to carry India’s couture story beyond borders. From becoming the first Indian designer to show at Paris Fashion Week in 2007 to creating Isha Ambani’s 20,000-hour Met Gala 2025 ensemble—a masterwork marrying zardozi with Banarasi weaves and the flourish of Black dandy style—Khanna has consistently elevated Indian craftsmanship onto the world’s most scrutinised stages. Now, with her ready-to-wear label AK-OK debuting at London Fashion Week, she is poised to redefine what Indian luxury looks like on a global scale.

“From the start, we wanted to establish an Indian brand that could stand internationally, interpreted as global fashion,” Khanna says in an exclusive conversation with Robb Report India. “Showing at the London Fashion Week is a very important step towards that dream. For me, it’s about rediscovering and relaunching ourselves in a new territory. It’s an interesting, exciting challenge.”

India Gone Global

Khanna has never shied away from reimagining India’s artisanal legacies for the younger generation, and the London showcase is no different. “The younger generation is quite aware of their culture and tradition,” she explains. “Of course, you have to make these crafts relevant—you have to modernise them. Whether it’s the zardozi or anything else, you have to reinvent the way you cut and the way you look at things. At the same time, it’s heartening to see that this generation is mindful of its heritage.”

This belief has manifested in many of her collections over the years. At the 16th edition of the India Couture Week, her showcase featured textiles like Kinkhab brocade, sheer fabrics, and satin, incorporating oversized botanical prints and opulent embellishments. Think sharara blazer sets and textured skirts paired with bralette tops.

An Experiment, the collection she showcased during the finale of the India Couture Week 2022, saw references to tribal India with colourful patchwork, elaborate drapes, intricate beading, sequined work, and embossed pearls. That commitment to heritage took on a grand scale at the Met Gala 2025, where Khanna crafted a look for Isha Ambani that required 20,000 hours of labour, complete with Banarasi weaves and zardosi.

Birth of AK | OK Anamika Khanna

While her eponymous couture house remains deeply rooted in embroidery and occasion-wear, AK | OK Anamika Khanna emerged as a counterpoint. “There was a lot of demand for clothes that could be used easily—not just for weddings or occasions, but for day-to-night dressing. Lounge-y, casual, fun fashion. I felt the need to create something more millennial-oriented,” she says.

When her twins returned from the US, the family launched the label together. Quickly, the label evolved beyond fashion into what Khanna calls, “an ethos of ease, versatility, individuality, and being ‘ok’ with imperfection.” Its DNA lies in fluid silhouettes, layering, and adaptability: embroidered denims that pair with crisp white shirts, shirt dresses that bridge the gap between luxurious and biker aesthetics, or even printed attires that could slip as easily into office hours as they do into a beach holiday. “It’s ok not to be perfect,” she says, adding: “It’s about embracing who you are.”

While many in the industry have been quick to describe the label as “sophisticated disruption,” Khanna strays away from these tags. Instead, it’s this very paradox she celebrates. “Defining AK | OK Anamika Khanna is difficult because we’re really enjoying ourselves with it by doing what we want and not following rules,” she admits.

This philosophy translates into silhouettes that are sharp, contemporary, and yet tailored with Indian craft in mind. “I think of myself as a working woman who doesn’t have much time, but loves fashion,” she says. “Sometimes, I land in a city, go straight to work, have dinner, and catch a flight back home. With AK | OK Anamika Khanna, all I need to do is change shoes, add jewellery, and I’m ready for the evening.”

For her London showcase, it’s this ease that drew her towards the city. “[London is] very accepting of all kinds of fashion. [It is] experimental, adaptable to multiple cultures, and with a natural vibe that AK | OK fits into,” she explains. Beyond the aesthetic synergy, London Fashion Week also represents what British Fashion Council CEO Laura Weir has called a “cultural exchange between South Asia and Britain.”

AK | OK at London Fashion Week

That cultural exchange played out vividly on the runway. Prints drawn from Indian mythology and astrology lent a graphic boldness; Chikankari embroidery—typically reserved for delicate occasion wear—appeared in a striking new look. Picture a coat layered over trousers, suggesting how tradition can slip into everyday dressing. Silver flourishes, inspired by Indian jewellery, were paired alongside jeans, skirts, and boots. Together, the pieces dismantled the notion of Indian fashion as “too ethnic” or “too formal,” instead presenting silhouettes that moved with ease and invited fresh ways to wear craft in a global context.

Khanna embraces this responsibility with clarity. “It’s simple. India is my root, my inspiration. The entire collection is inspired by India, but presented through an intermingling of cultures. I imagine a young London cool girl with Indian roots, and how she interprets fashion.”

Khanna shows no sign of slowing down. “A lot,” she laughs when asked what’s next. “New stores, new products, new launches, new international arenas. We’re permanently a work in progress.”

For a designer who has spent nearly three decades balancing tradition with innovation, that work-in-progress state seems less like a confession than a statement. With AK | OK stepping onto one of the world’s most experimental fashion platforms, Khanna reaffirms her role as a custodian of India’s past and an architect of its fashion future—disrupting, always, with sophistication.