Some anniversaries call for a party. This one called for a museum. To mark forty years in couture, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla did not simply throw Mumbai a gala, they built an entire world for one night at Mubarak Baug, their 20,000-square-foot cultural home inside South Mumbai’s century-old Framjee Cawasjee Institute. What unfolded was less a celebration of longevity than a walk-through of everything the house has spent four decades perfecting.
A House Built From the Inside Out
The venue did most of the storytelling before a single guest arrived. Gilded surfaces met antique Gujarati architecture. A brass Mumbai skyline installation rose above a stepwell-inspired amphitheatre. A nostalgic runway traced the label’s journey back to its 1986 beginnings, while a dedicated diamond jewellery room and a fashion archive gave guests something rarer than spectacle: proof. More than 250 craft swatches lined the walls, each a small footnote in the story of the house’s embroidery and embellishment work. Tucked among them, quietly, sat Madhuri Dixit’s original Chandramukhi ghagra from Devdas, a nod to the duo’s National Award-winning costume design legacy and a reminder that their reach has always extended well beyond the runway.
The Front Row, in Full Force
Mumbai’s elite turned out in a display of couture loyalty rarely seen outside a wedding season. Nita Ambani led the arrivals in a regal red saree, its border and pallu worked in intricate geometric embroidery, paired with a matching full-sleeved blouse and diamond jewellery restrained enough to let the craftsmanship speak first. Isha Ambani opted for a fitted silver-white ensemble with a crystal-detailed neckline and layered diamond chokers, while Shloka Mehta chose ivory and gold, wide-leg palazzos grounding a heavily embroidered top. Radhika Merchant rounded out the group in an embroidered jacket worn over a floral-printed skirt, statement embroidery and fluid silhouettes tying every look back to the same design language.
Bollywood Brings the Drama
The film industry, predictably, did not hold back. Sonam Kapoor arrived in a white Anarkali laced with gold embroidery and a double dupatta drape, styled by sister Rhea Kapoor. Neetu Kapoor chose an ivory-and-beige kurta set finished with delicate floral work and emerald jewellery, while Navya Naveli Nanda stood out in a gold mini dress covered entirely in beadwork and coin embellishments, a younger, sharper read on the house’s signature maximalism. Dimple Kapadia brought her characteristic understated elegance, and Genelia Deshmukh opted for a polished traditional look alongside husband Riteish, whose ensemble matched her in quiet sophistication. Veteran actress Asha Parekh added a dose of old-school glamour, while Ali Fazal and Richa Chadha balanced the evening’s heritage focus with a more contemporary sensibility.
What the Night Was Really Celebrating
Strip away the guest list, considerable as it was, and what the evening argued for was continuity. This was never simply another Bollywood party dressed up as an anniversary. It was proof that Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla built their house on embroidery, embellishment and artisanal skill long before maximalism became a fixture of global runways. Forty years on, that same craftsmanship still threads through everything they touch, jewellery, costume design, couture, under a single roof. If the evening made one thing clear, it is that real luxury in Indian fashion has never been about trend cycles. It has always been handmade, generational, and built one embroidered stitch at a time.
Follow Best List India for the culture, conversations, and ideas worth paying attention to.
