I was just wrapping up my Blenders Pride Fashion Tour, powered by FDCI, pre-show chat with Anamika Khanna, when she asked me: “So, what are you wearing?” Caught off guard, I mumbled my indecisiveness. “Future is Crafted, think, think!” she laughed — the theme of her dramatic AK|OK Anamika Khanna show, staged on Topaz VI, an industrial barge by The Barge Company, a premium river cruise experiences provider from the house of Eastern Navigation Pvt. Ltd. (Estd. 1963), on December 20. The night when temperatures dipped, and the mercury soared on the ramp, anchored in the midst of the Hooghly River.

From the queen of cool, the collection was a seamless extension of Anamika’s personality, flowing effortlessly from sassy to oomphy, all made in India, for the global stage. With AK|OK Anamika Khanna, a contemporary fashion label launched in 2021 as a collaboration between Anamika and Reliance Brands Limited, the Calcutta-based designer has often spoken about a certain freedom. And, it’s very often palpable. Like it was on Saturday. In the series of powerful whites and off-whites, the chainmail looks and the “sculptural” silhouettes. There was a certain raw edginess that seemed tangible. Feminine but fierce with pulled-back hair and dark mouths. Elegant but never demure, in their lace-up boots.

Anamika played with mostly monochromes, her favourites, giving her a canvas for her emotions and the futuristic silhouettes. Zardozi, chikankari and mirror work were interpreted in a modern language. There was a line of “cosmic-inspired graphics” and the blacks, especially the studded ones, spelt goth glory. The chainmail pieces were funky-celebratory and rock chic. We loved the look that had embroidery on the long jacket, merged with that on the boots. Ripped denims with metallic embellishments brought to life the fun of streetwear. The long white dress with a thigh-high slit on Sony Kaur or the draped top+pants on Rikee Chatterjee had Vesper Lynd vibes. The play of sheer and fluidity bore a sense of allure. Before actor Ishaan Khatter closed the show, Anamika sent the only pop of colour on the ramp. “Responsive lasers”, live drum beats, and the misty river added to the mood of the show, choreographed by Anu Ahuja.

“What makes Anamika special is that she has stuck to her craft,” said Sunil Sethi, chairman, FDCI. For him, the beauty of the Hooghly river with the backdrop of Howrah Bridge was synonymous with Calcutta. “It can’t be more seeped into history, and I don’t think there can be anything more Calcutta. It’s a treat, actually, for India. Anamika hadn’t done a show in Calcutta for a while, for many people. BPFT’s theme was craft reinvented, and we couldn’t find anyone better than Anamika to do justice to the craft that she uses from the Bengal region,” he added.

For Team Barge Company, it was a night to remember. “When you tell people you’re going to turn an industrial barge into a fashion runway, the first response is usually — impossible. But at The Barge Company, we tend to ask, why not? With the team at Blenders Pride Fashion Tour and Anamika Khanna giving us the trust and freedom to rethink everything, over two months of meticulous planning led to 13,000sq ft of open deck slowly coming alive. A 230-ft runway took shape, more than 10 vessels moved together on the day, and after an intensive week of on-ground production, the Hooghly became part of the story,” said Piyush Singhee, co-founder, The Barge Company. Rishika Das Roy, director, The Barge Company, felt, going forward, the possibilities were “limitless”. “The river is Calcutta’s greatest stage — we just haven’t used it that way yet. This show reimagines what the Hooghly can be: not just a working waterway, but a platform for fashion, culture and unforgettable experiences,” she smiled.

If the very idea of the show had given us goosebumps, for Anamika too, it was an adrenaline rush of something she hadn’t attempted before and she was all too grateful for the opportunities that had come her way. A lesson in humility. Here’s what she had told us prior to the showcase.

Why don’t you do more shows in Calcutta?

I thought you would tell me just take it easy; I am doing too many shows! (Laughs)

Tell us about coming back to Calcutta with this show. We think it’s going to be massive...

I also think it’s going to be massive, and that’s the whole idea of it. I’ll start with Calcutta. Every time BPFT asked me, and they said Calcutta, without thinking, I just said yes, because I just feel this is home. And it’s always like a different sense of emotion showing here. And then, you know, to be able to showcase your city in the most modern way, it’s an opportunity, right? So, that’s why it just becomes like this very special thing.

The setting is amazing...

I don’t think anyone has done a show like this before, to be very honest. It’s iconic. I’m already sensing that iconic-ness of the whole thing. So, basically, it’s the Howrah Bridge, and it’s a floating barge on the Hooghly. The experience that has been planned is going to be an experience. I’m feeling like the setting that we have and the plan that BPFT has, when I proposed it to them and they jumped on it, because I just feel that their way of thinking is interesting.

When somebody allows you to feel free and think of a theme such as ‘Future is Crafted’, for Bengal, there’s nothing more apt than a theme like this. When you say craft, it’s a natural (fit). Which other place can you talk more about craft than Calcutta or West Bengal, for that matter? And then when we look at what we have in the city in terms of the Howrah Bridge and the river and the boats and all of that, I mean, I can’t tell you how happy I’m feeling doing this. I’m feeling excited.

Is it a completely new collection you’re showcasing?

It’s taking forward a collection that we have shown, but it’s completely treating it, like the theme says, ‘Future is Crafted’. When you look at craft in a way that it’s going to be, when you’re breaking some boundaries, when you’re thinking about it in a way that it hasn’t been thought before... like when you take something very traditional and then you actually think of what is possible with it... that’s what it’s all about. It’s a completely new representation of what we do.

What’s the significance of the Hooghly river in your life?

It’s home. It’s almost like a religion. It’s almost like sacred. You know, it’s not about a fashion show anymore for me. Plus, also the fact that I’ve invited my people who are close to my heart, and these are the people I always joke that, you know, in Calcutta, the support that I have, no one can even match that support. It’s crazy what I have here. And it’s for those I’m showing, you know. That’s the kind of relationships. And it’s not about favours and obligations here. It’s the relationships that we’ve built. And that’s what matters so much more than anything else. And we’ve all grown up going there. We’ve attended events on boats. These are moments, right? Every time you’ve crossed the bridge, you’ve felt a moment. That’s exactly what I’m feeling right now. I’m just feeling these moments.

Personality-wise, what does Ishaan Khatter bring to the table for you?

He brings his personality. He adds to the whole essence of AK|OK, of the future, of what it’s going to be. He just brings exactly that to the table. And that’s exciting. When I see a generation which is different, you realise where you’re shifting to. And with his spirit, and his experimentation, and his attitude, and his ease, you know, it’s almost like BPFT, AK|OK has become a person. That’s what Ishaan is for me right now. He’s so cool.

You’ve always been all about crafts, but this year has shown that the future is really in the crafts, right? This has been an eye-opening year for India in general....

I feel, you know, with this show that we’re doing and this theme that I’ve got, ‘Future is Crafted’, do you know what it feels like to feel freedom? I’m feeling a sense of freedom that this is the next thing. This is almost defining us and our journey as the next thing. And that’s what it’s doing for me right now. It really, you know, is the next step.

It’s about the people. Where we’re moving to, without any boundaries and regulations, and there is no must-do, and there are no rules and regulations on dressing up or on anything in life. That’s what we are also trying to do. We’re not following any rules. And that’s where I see the future, actually.

How was 2025 for you?

First of all, I want to remember this year as a year where all I wanted to do is just go to sleep for a few hours (laughs). That’s a different matter, but this year has actually been a year of new beginnings in many ways, of consolidation in many ways, of boldness, of courage, you know, of being able to say no and being able to say yes. Do you know what I mean? Having that power to just say yes and make it happen, because I also have a lot of support around me, besides the fact that, you know, this year has been that point where I have been able to speak my voice without fearing judgment.

That’s been my year. I mean, of course, new stores, new openings, new fashion weeks, new everything, but emotionally, I feel like it’s been that year. I feel it’s the foundation stone of the future to come. I’ve got the opportunities that I’m going to get tomorrow as well. These are opportunities which you feel grateful for.