Meet men who started with one shop, worked with Aishwarya Rai, are Isha Ambani’s business partners, creators of world’s costliest lehenga worth Rs…

Starting from scratch, the fashion designers are now a big brand who have worked with more than half of Bollywood, even have Isha Ambani invested in their business.

India has a rich textile collection. And a combination of heritage, culture, textile brings out a whole new product and an ingenious perspective. Indian fashion designers find a beautiful array of designs, palette and rich ideas to fabricate something out of it. This is the story of such designers who made their own niche in the industry. Starting with one boutique, they now are a go to name for every celebrity. Working in the industry for over three decades, close to four now.

A boutique, over thousand designs, a book launch at Antilia, working in movies to being the top name for designing wedding wear, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla have come a long way. The designer duo also are in business with Isha Ambani. According to a report by The Week, Ambani’s have 51 per cent stake in ABJSK.

The Story of India’s Ace Fashion Designers

Abu and Sandeep first met on August 15 1986. Who knew an Independence Day brunch would stay for a lifetime! “When we first met, the energy between us was magnetic. Our goals were uncannily similar & we discovered we’re both suckers for fashion, food & travelling. Before we knew it, we were heading to town for pizza! Abu was struggling with 2 jobs, so I offered to help — that marked the start of our journey of creativity & friendship. We fit like puzzle pieces — he was the quiet one & I, the loud extrovert! But our differences made us balance each other out,” ABJSK revealed to Humans of Bombay in an interview.

The two were united by the passion of fine craftsmanship, heritage textiles, embroideries and a passion to do something unique and one-of-a-kind. According to Wedamor, the two “bonded in a taxi ride over their shared yearning to dedicate their art to a kind of opulent originality that exudes a dreamy ode to the good life. As time progressed, an opportunity from Gopi Mangnani to set up a boutique in Juhu led Abu and Sandeep to their debut venture as Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla. They agreed to name their collection “Mata Hari” and it went on to become the first of many freelancing projects.”

They first presented their collection in Eileen Coyne’s London boutique named ‘Also’. Since the, they have found a place at global fashion scene. The duo is very close to the Bachchan family. ABJSK has designed wedding wear for Shweta Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan.

The first movie they designed clothes was for ‘Devdas’.

Fashion Designer Connection with Ambani’s

In 2012, Nita Ambani personally hosted an event at her residence for Abu and Sandeep Khosla. Commemorating their work, the duo’s book launch was hosted at the Ambani residence.

Later, they also designed couture for weddings of Anant Ambani-Shloka Ambani, Isha Ambani-Anand Piramal, Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant.  For the recent grand Ambani wedding, they revealed to The Week, “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.”

The pieces for Isha Ambani’s jadau-encrusted blouse were sourced from her personal collection and from Gujarat and Rajasthan. Radhika’s hand-embroidered wedding lehenga was Abu and Sandeep’s interpretation of ‘panetar’―the Gujarati tradition of brides wearing red and white saris gifted by their maternal uncles.

Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla boast of designing one of world’s costliest lehenga for Isha Ambani wedding. Her beautiful lehenga was approximately around Rs 90 crores!