BT Exclusive: A Journey Through Designer-Duo Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla's 33 Years In Fashion

The pair first met at the studio of designer Xerxces Bathena on August 15,1986. At the time Jani was creating costumes for a musical, while Khosla had travelled to Mumbai from Delhi to assist Bathena. The two bonded right from day one and that same year they decided to start working together and opened their first boutique ‘Mata Hari’ in Juhu, Mumbai.

HOME AND AWAY 

In 1993, the designers debuted their first furniture line in Mumbai. This was followed by a series of high-profile interior design projects and in 2002, high-end department store selfridges & co-invited the pair to retail their home accessories and artefacts in London. As a part of the display, they recreated their work for actor Dimple Kapadia’s Mumbai home.

REEL BRIDES

Some of the biggest contemporary Bollywood stars have opted for Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla for their nuptials. The most well-known recent brides include Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Deepika Padukone, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas as well as business magnate Isha Ambani. But the first wedding that the pair felt they got absolute trust and love, was Shweta Bachchan’s to her husband Nikhil Nanda. “Jaya Bachchan has been our most loyal client over the last 30 years. She’s always the one who will tell us what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong,” says the pair. When it came to her daughter’s wedding, the designers took her lehenga as an inspiration and decorated the entire venue in zardozi. “It was the first time we got to design an entire wedding from end to end.”