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Anamika Khanna: Every time someone is doing an interview, they'll ask me ‘Who would you like to dress?’ The answer is always Sonam. ‘Who's your favourite to dress?’ Pick anyone in the world. My answer is Sonam. It's constant. It's a thing.

Sonam Kapoor: It’s always been so easy, you know, Anamiks. Because our worldview is the same. Our aesthetic is the same. Our moral compass is the same.

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Anamika: We’ve spent so much time growing up together.

Sonam: How old am I? 39. And the first show that we did together, I was 23. We met like 16 years ag

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Anamika: Can you imagine?

Kshitij Kankaria: So how did you guys meet each other first?

Anamika: I met AK [Anil Kapoor] in London first. I think up to today every conversation with AK starts with, ‘My family stole you but you were my friend first.’

Sonam: Mom and dad became friendly to Anamiks, maybe a couple of years before I walked for her. Actually, I met Anamika because I did “Delhi 6” when I was 21. Anamiks, we were already friends then.

Anamika: Even at that time, even for “Delhi 6,” you can't imagine how much clarity Sonam had on the character and her clothes. There was no confusion. I was supposed to go to New Market and pick up these cotton floral fabrics and cut them up and make them clothes. And she was like this is what you need to do. Her clarity has always been the same.

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Sonam: The reason Anamika I became friends is because she's closer to my age than she is to my mom and dad. You know, for “Delhi 6” and all, I wanted to work on my own clothes. I wanted to do my own designs and stuff like that. I've done that for a couple of my films. Obviously for me it's easy to do that if Anamika's designing on board. Otherwise I'm not a costume stylist. I'm an actor. I've done it for Delhi 6, Mausam and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, and for Aisha— she's done my Indian clothes.

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Anamika: I only did films because of Sonam.

Sonam: And if I want something from Anamiks, even if it’s for tomorrow, I get it! I’m so bad [laughs].

Anamika: Well, there are some people in your life who you will do anything for.

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Kshitij: Sonam, do you remember the first time you put on an Anamika Khanna outfit?

Anamika: Like a serious outfit– that was during the first show we did together.

Sonam: But before that, you’d already designed clothes for me for “Saawariya” promotions.

Anamika: I designed the first Indian outfit you wore. I designed this malmal ivory angrakha kurta. And then you wanted to wear a matha patti and anklets with it and I was like, Sonam, stop it. It's not your wedding.

Sonam: You also used to do those saris which became dresses– dresses that became a wraparound sari. I really liked it. You'd made me a light pink outfit out of it, I can't even remember. But this was the first outfit of yours I'd worn. I remember very clearly. Anamiks, actually, I did a full campaign for you also before “Delhi 6.” You know, in those skirt-saris everybody started copying of yours?

Anamika: Yeah! Those pictures were beautiful. And this was a campaign which AK [Anil Kapoor] pushed haan. He was pushing me to do it as much as he was pushing Sonam. The pictures are very special. There was that hot pink outfit [laughs] and Sonam, you had that wild hair. Growing up, for me also and for Sonam, we did so much together because Sonam obviously was this becoming this fashion icon and everybody was chasing her. At one point of time, every designer was sending her clothes. I think everyone's still chasing her. That's another matter.

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Kshitij: So what is it about Anamika's clothes, Sonam, that made you realise that this collaboration between you both is going to be, forever? Because you have worn everyone there is to be worn, especially Indian designers and Indian wear. What’s so special about Anamika?

Sonam: I feel like Anamika is an original in India, and it is very hard to find someone who's been original, you know. You have to work with people who are better than you, right? I feel that her aesthetic is a hundred times better than mine. So if I say something, she'd be like, no, Sonam, that's rubbish. This is what it should be. And so if my ideas start with an A she’ll take them to Z. I find that with her, and it just works on me because she makes the clothes with the woman in mind, you know, which is very hard for a lot of people to do, weirdly. Everybody's trying to sell clothes and Anamika is trying to make clothes. It's very different. She's not a commercial designer but because her clothes are so beautiful, obviously, that's why she's so successful. And that combination is amazing. Every outfit of hers is a piece of art. And it just fits me, I don't know. It's almost like when she's designing, she's thinking of me. I don't feel like I look as good in any other designer.

Kshitij: I was also so sure about this during the issue [dirty’s Issue 04: Identity]. I was working on something else with Anamika, and when your name came up, we decided on Indian clothes. And in that second, we said “Anamika!” And I was like, I have to do nothing here. These two girls will just have some sort of connection and it will work.

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Anamika: The Cannes outfits! Remember, I made like two. One silver, one gold.

Kshitij: The first one, with the nose ring, that is the image plastered in my mind when I think of both of you together.

Anamika: The second one was the pink organza draped sari. The dhoti sari.

Sonam: That was so pretty, my God.

Kshitij: Why is it so special for you to dress Sonam, Anamika? You have dressed her a thousand times but you will still stop and make everything possible when it comes to her.

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Anamika: Sonam has not just been an actor or a fashion icon or whatever to me. Our relationship is from the heart. I genuinely care about her and so it starts from. For me, it's never about what I'm going to get out of it. It's about the love that we both share. And then when it comes to clothes, it's very exciting to work for a person who works the clothes better than anyone else in the whole world. And besides that, there’s no one I have met in my life who knows her fashion more than Sonam. You give her a plain piece of fabric and she has visualised the whole thing right down to her shoes. And sometimes, it's really interesting to be able to pick up the phone and say, “Sonam, this is what I'm thinking. What do you think?” Or for her to do it. For one of my couture shows I was stuck. I said “Sonam, I don't know what shoes to do.” Sonam sat and pulled out like 40 different kinds of shoes available and was sending them to me. She's an inspiration. Besides the fact she's so beautiful that it's a pain.

Sonam: She and I work on a different level because we've done so many things, besides with Rhea.

Anamika: With Sonam, I have an incredible respect for her sense of design, sensibility and aesthetic. When Sonam is suggesting something, I take it seriously. I'm very happy to go with her suggestion. There's no ego here that, oh, this is my design and whatever. If she says please take this fabric, put this embroidery, and do this design. I'll do it.

Sonam: There are also a lot of times where you're like, I'm not doing this. I'm going to do it like this [laughs]. But we've never had a fight. This much I can tell.

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Kshitij: Has it ever happened that Sonam wore your design and Anamika, you saw the pictures and were like, oh God, this doesn't look like what I've imagined it to look like in terms of styling or hair and makeup. Would you call Sonam up and tell her?

Anamika: You forgot? You wanted to… [laughs]

Sonam: Huh… okay at my wedding? Please haan, I’ll explain this. Okay so when I'm wearing anything Indian, Anamika and Rhea have no say on what my jewellery is going to be. And for my wedding, I had done my clothes myself. Anamika made me four outfits– my after-wedding outfit and my reception. I only wanted Anamika to do my reception because that was my public appearance. Everything else was in the house. And I wanted something completely different. And, uh, I wanted to wear something in black. And Anamika being Anamika says you can't wear black. Do you remember?

Anamika: Yeah! The day after her wedding she said she wants to wear black.

Sonam: She's like, I will make it grey, but not make it black. I'm not going to let you wear black. Are you crazy? And she made my bidaai outfit. It was light pink and it’s my favourite wedding outfit. And I have worn it some three times after that. I wore it to the Qatar Film Festival. I wore it to Shloka and Akash [Ambani’s] wedding. Then the other sari Anamika made for my wedding, we did a coat on top too because, remember, I was getting married in Switzerland.

Anamika: Yeah. We needed to keep it warm, so I lined it with wool.

Sonam: And you made me two dupattas with it, so then I re-wore it very differently.

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Anamika: Sonam, we have to design a collection together.

Sonam: Yeah, Anamika. Indian!

Anamika: I mean very, very traditional. No experimentation, by the way.

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Sonam: Like I did with my wedding outfit, I wore it Gujarati style with one dupatta, and then styled the other dupatta over the jacket. I re-wear a lot of my clothes.

Anamika: I think the way she layers Indian clothes, sometimes I have to tell her, “Sonam, it's too much.” And she's like, “I will make it work.” And it works! I’m there like, “Can you take off this? Can you take that off?” But she will wear everything and more, and it just works.

Sonam: That's why I wanted different pieces so I can wear it again. The chevron one Anamika made for me was everywhere.

Anamika: You remember the controversy? Somebody wrote that it was a print. It was a very funny article.

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Sonam: They thought it was a print! I was like, this is not printed, this is fully embroidered.

Anamika: Imagine making a printed outfit for Sonam’s reception! Suicidal.

Sonam: It was beautiful. And it was grey and silver.

Anamika: The base is black! She kept saying black. I said, I won't do black. So we found a way. Sonam, send this to me. I will cut it and then we'll make something out of it.

Sonam: I mean, what do we make out of this? You make me a jacket I think. But I want to keep it this way also. What if I have a girl or something, I don't know.

Anamika: The girl is mine.

Sonam: To decide for?

Anamika: No, just to have this. Mine.

Sonam: Okay, fine, she’s yours. [laughs] You know, Anamika is really into home interiors and home stuff also right now. I'm sending her home textiles to see and all of that. And jewellery? We love jewellery. Art? Home? Anything you name it…

Anamika: Yeah. We can collaborate on anything.

Sonam: And not collaborate only. We talk about all beautiful things. Obviously we gossip also quite a bit. [laughs]

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Anamika: We've connected many times also about life in general… When I was sick, you know, the way Sonam and I had conversations about so many things. And also when Sonam has been going through some stuff.

Sonam: I've been sick also and Anamika has been really sick. Certain things I like to fire her. “Stop doing this. Don't do this.”

Anamika: How much she fired me on something. [laughs] I will not say. I say “Vishesh, you talk to Sonam because you got me stuck in it, and now Sonam is firing me.” So it's a really cute, special relationship.

Sonam: Yeah. It's nice to have someone like that in life. It’s more than just a collaboration.

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Sonam: Um, lots of times. [laughs]

Kshitij: Fair enough. Another one. If there is an Anamika piece that you have to wear as your last outfit ever, what would you wear?

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Sonam: Honestly, I think it would be a piece that I think deserved a bigger moment because at that time. It was for Film Fare, a white-ivory cutwork couture outfit that she made for me. And it was just really beautiful. And I feel like because they weren't photographing it properly, it didn’t do justice. And that's why I started photographing the outfits I wear, you know, because they didn't photograph things well enough. It really bothered me, you know, because all the people are working so hard to put it together. And I cannot tell you, in person, it was too stunning. I felt my most beautiful. And this was the first time Anamika had done a silhouette like this with the dhoti and the cape.

Kshitij: I remember that as well. And lastly, is there any time that Anamika has sent you clothes and you went, “I absolutely cannot wear this.” And have you, when that happened, expressed it to Anamika that, hey, I can't wear this because of this particular reason?

Sonam: It only happened once, during the NMACC opening. I had just delivered my baby and I was 15 kgs more than what I usually am. And Anamika had made me an anarkali. It was the very last minute and I didn't know if I was going or what was happening. I was really, honestly not in a comfortable space, mentally. And now I'm back to my original size, like I'm five six kgs more than what I used to be. And Anamika has dressed me in all shapes and sizes. Like when I was eight months pregnant, she made me an outfit I didn't end up wearing. But then I got it altered and I wore it for my first Diwali party, when Vayu [Sonam’s son] was two or three months old.

Kshitij: When something like this does happen, when you know that you're not wearing that and she's worked on it, what is your relationship like in those moments?

Sonam: I toh I started crying because I wanted to wear it. Because after I delivered Vayu, for all the big moments I wore Anamika only. I was so comfortable.

Anamika: And you know, I don't think there's any issues there. If she wears, doesn’t wear, if it works. Things like this will happen.

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Sonam: And it’s very rare also. Because once I decide I'm wearing you, I wear you only. This was the first time this happened, it was an anomaly. If Anamika is dressing me, unless it's the bride or it's somebody else's party and they're wearing an Anamika, there has never been a case where she's made me something which I didn’t feel the best wearing. That’s just our relationship. There are a lot of times where I wore things that are just directly from her runway when I was a sample size. But there are a lot of times where it's made especially for me, you know, and she doesn't usually do that for other celebrities or other actors.

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Anamika: I don't have discussions with people. I'm only doing that with Sonam.

Sonam: But I always love to see other people in Anamika. I’m just happy for her. I hate to sound preachy but I just enjoy it when other people wear her clothes also. There are some people who wear clothes for events, and I'm just like, just pick up an Anamika from her store and wear it. Like, why are you wearing this? [laughs] I would rather have a room full of people wearing Anamika Khanna than anybody else. It's just better. I love how people just look beautiful in her clothes. And all my friends who are designers are bigger fans of Anamika than their own clothes. Whether it's Masaba [Gupta], whether it's Shehla [Khan].

Kshitij: You can't help it, really.

Sonam: There's no negativity with other designers as well, because I'm so close to Abu Sandeep, to Anuradha, Masaba, Shehla. And they understand if I’m wearing her. There's never been mara mari because of it. Anamika, do you remember when I had to do that khadi show and Gudda and you and Pratap, all three of you addressed me together.

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Anamika: Both Gudda and Pratap were like, you figure it out. And I had to figure out their clothes on Sonam. And my clothes. And I’m styling for Gudda and for Rajesh. I was like, wow.

Sonam: All three of them were there in the khadi show and I walked in the end. I had to wear one of each of their pieces. So I wore an Anamika cape, a Gudda skirt and a Pratap blouse. Right, Anamiks?

Anamika: It was mad.

Kshitij: I’m curious– because you both are such good friends and you have gone through everything together, good days and bad days and sickness and family, are there times you feel like you take each other for granted?

Sonam: I don't think we take each other for granted, no Anamiks? So Rhea might call up Anamika at the last minute, but I would never do it.

Anamika: Yeah Rhea will call at the last minute. Sonam will plan properly. So I have time to go back and forth to design specially.

Kshitij: A question to you– Anamika. What would be your favourite outfit that Sonam has ever worn till date?

Anamika: I think that Macau outfit was the moment. Do you remember Macau?

Sonam: Yeah. I wore Anamika's outfit because I didn’t know what to wear.

Anamika: That was iconic because I walked into the room and Sonam was in a bad mood because a couple of brands had sent her these dresses and she hated everything. They were gowns.

Sonam: I couldn't wear those gowns!

Anamika: And then I was like you know what, I was planning to wear this. It's a new outfit, do you want to see? And then you just saw it. You tried it on. You called for these necklaces from India and said, that's it.

Kshitij: So she took your outfit, what you were supposed to wear and she wore it? [laughs]

Anamika: Yeah! Sonam and I actually went down to buy a bag to pair it with.

Sonam: Yeah, we did. We bought a Jimmy Choo clutch.

Anamika: And after that, that outfit became viral. I'm still making it. I feel, like, spur of the moment, we've sometimes done things together which has become very special without realising it.

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Kshitij: I want to talk a bit about the process behind the cover outfit for dirty’s Issue 04. I think Sonam and I were sitting together and we were discussing this whole shoot and what we want to do for the portrait by Tim. And Sonam just immediately was like “Anamika!” She imagined herself in white and said that I want to look like a bride and I definitely want to do Indian wear on the cover.

"She said, “I want to look like a Goddess."

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Kshitij: I remember Sonam saying that Tim has done a lot of western wear, but he had obviously never shot someone in full Indian glory. Anamika, I remember you wrote the mantras on the sari but then the shoot got delayed, and you called for the sari back and re-embroidered it because I gave you less time. So I just want to understand from Sonam what was her thought behind wearing Indian and Anamika for the cover portrait by Tim?

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Sonam: I feel like I look the best in Indian clothes. I love to wear clothes, obviously. I think clothes are art, and I like collecting clothes etc. But I really, honestly enjoy wearing and feel most comfortable and beautiful in an Indian outfit. In a sari or in an anarkali. I'm so proud of our designers, our artists, and you know, just the craft that we have in India is so special. And if you have to showcase it to someone or I want to showcase myself to an international audience, I always like to wear an Indian designer, an Anamika, on an international platform. We are world class and we are also west-obsessed. I find that a little weird. So when we have to showcase anything authentically Indian, which is so brilliant, I always feel like, why not? I want to wear an Anamika, I want to wear something that's beautiful and I want to wear something that's truly Indian.

Anamika: And she did look spectacular!

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