Diksha Khanna

Indian womenswear fashion brand Diksha Khanna removes all theories of silhouette, volume and motif—and steps back from pre-notions to make her pret line fresh and youthful. The Mumbai-based fashion designer believes in using the finest fabrics and craftsmanship and retails thoughtful, timeless and trans-seasonal apparel and accessories to encourage sustainable modern Indian fashion.

National Institute of Design Delhi and School of Textiles and Design University of Leeds UK alumni Diksha Khanna developed a keen interest in the textiles aspect of the discipline since a very young age. As a young age she was fascinated with textiles and countless hours in her uncle’s stockrooms of a textile business in Almora, Uttarakhand. 

While studying for a master's in Fashion Design in Leeds she worked with a few design houses including British luxury brand Bunmi Koko and then shifted her base back to India. Here she worked under late iconic fashion designer Wendell Rodricks to develop her skill set and expertise before she launched her eponymous label in 2015 with a vision to encourage sustainable modern fashion. 

The luxury pret womenswear label is acclaimed for its luxury fabrics and fine craftsmanship. "My travels have had a significant influence on my creative progression and design direction. Fashion to me only makes sense when seen holistically in the context of its aesthetic, textile and construction" reveals Diksha Khanna on her official website. “Our brand stands for thoughtful, timeless design. We produce on a small scale to minimise large-scale industrial wastage and our dependency on synthetic fabric. Many Handloom Fabrics such as like Khadi Denim, organic cotton, silk, wool are directly sourced from the weavers. This has resulted in the lesser use of pesticides and chemicals.”

The sustainable production process is a reflection of urban lifestyle where organic beautifully coexists with the industrial. Diksha khanna explores this philosophy with the usage of duality in textiles, surface treatments and silhouettes. It’s not one single ideology but a collection of smaller ideologies keeping in mind the importance of trans-seasonal apparel and accessories as a part of sustainable modern Indian fashion.

Speaking of sustainable fashion- Diksha khanna extensively uses eco-printing. Per FDCI: ‘Eco Printing is a form of natural dyeing on textiles. It involves extracting the beauty of plants and imprinting them onto wearable fabrics. The material is first soaked in alum mordant to help affix the dye and then leaves are laid out on half of the fabric and the other half is folded and rolled very tightly onto a piece of log or pipe. Then the bundle is steamed and the fabric is left to set overnight.’

The distressed denim sari is Diksha Khanna's signature. She tells Elle: "The sari always brings you back home and is extremely close to my heart, so there had to be a sari in the collection. A denim sari felt like a great way to form that connect with our gen-next audience, who love this silhouette but are afraid of embracing it due to the manageability factor. I eliminated the trouble by making it pre-stitched while keeping the pallu free (unpleated) to leave its fluidity intact."

An interesting part of Diksha's collections is the ‘Love Button’ She told Elle: "Our love buttons, as we like to call them, are all hand-embroidered with flora and fauna motifs. We took inspiration from cacti, daisies, trellises and hummingbirds. The idea was to send a message of spreading love, [building] a greener planet, a heaven on earth, which we all dream of living in."

“Our inspiration comes from an urban utopia where the organic can coexist with the industrial in an ideal state of being for city-dwellers like us with a heart of green. Our designs are a Salute to the resilience of roots that fight their way through cracks in mortar and leaves that glow through a coating of dust” explains Diksha khanna on her official website. "The picturesque embroideries are crafted with home-style needlepoints on frames. Opposing elements come together: the softness of fine handloom contrasts the ruggedness of denim while languid drapes complement structured tailoring making it a beautiful marriage of opposites."

Diksha Khanna SS2020 was a milestone collection. Per Explosive Fashion: "Crafted with hand-distressed unbleached, chemical-free denim, handwoven khadi denim, silk chanderi, Eri ahimsa silk and handwoven linen—with intricately embroidered nature-inspired motifs—Diksha had clearly expended effort in re-interpreting regional costumes with an edgy vibe… While leftover denim scrap was dip dyed and used to create fringes spoke of the sophisticated style with an undone edge; the sartorial equivalent of a loose chignon."

Diksha Khanna focuses on luxury pret with a clean contemporary design aesthetic for women who look for innovation and a point of difference in their garments. Her success story is hinged on the way she combines traditional Indian fashion with a completely modern viewpoint- a case in point being the distressed denim sari.

Seamlessly blending tradition with modern allure- Mumbai-based Diksha khanna envisions that her eponymous fashion brand would always stand for thoughtful, timeless and trans-seasonal apparel and accessories to encourage sustainable, modern Indian fashion. A prime example of this philosophy is her signature distressed denim saree- extensively covered in fashion media and worn by Bollywood A-list. 

Luxury pret brand Diksha Khanna creates luxury separates and denim occasion wear with unique design detail, quality, style, fit and comfort. The fashion designer's autumn winter 2019 collection was a hit. Per Explosive Fashion: ‘The denim and crochet patchwork kaftan worn over a silk chanderi shirt with coin encrusted hoodie and denim pants made up a complete wardrobe in one look and the denim saree with crocheted patchwork textured pallu worn over a silk chanderi shirt with coin encrusted hoodie would look stunning on the red carpet.’

The very next collection for Spring Summer 2020 was a milestone. Handcrafted with distressed unbleached, chemical-free denim, handwoven khadi denim, silk chanderi, Eri ahimsa silk and handwoven linen—with hand embroidered nature-inspired motifs, the fashion designer re-interpreted regional designs with a modern vibe. The white sari with washed denim pleats and the denim jersey kurta were sell-outs.