ELLE Exclusive: Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla Bring Their Interpretation Of A Thousand & One Nights To Art Mumbai

This year’s edition of Art Mumbai transforms into a stage for couture and storytelling as celebrated designers Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla unveil their latest showcase, A Thousand & One Nights. Since its inception in 2023, Art Mumbai has become one of India’s most exciting cultural platforms, bringing together artists, galleries, designers, curators, and collectors to celebrate the creative pulse of the city. And now, in its 2025 edition, fashion finds its place in the dialogue, with one of India’s most iconic design duos leading the conversation.

For Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, this show marks a momentous milestone, the 40th year of their eponymous couture house. Known for their ability to fuse Indian craftsmanship with boundless imagination, the designers have long been revered as revivalists of tradition and masters of reinvention. Their four-decade legacy is defined by ornate detailing, maximal expression, and a devotion to elevating Indian handwork to global couture status.

At Art Mumbai, they turn their eye toward fantasy, unveiling a world inspired by the classic tale of A Thousand & One Nights. “We’ve always been avid lovers of storytelling,” says the designer duo. “The art of it is much like couture, it demands intricacy, and a way of imagining things with utmost depth and originality. A Thousand & One Nights conveys themes and values that we identify with, courage, resilience, creativity, celebration, and an unabashed love for life.”

This season, fantasy meets opulence through a hundred handcrafted garments that reinterpret the spirit of the Middle Eastern classic through an Indian lens. The collection celebrates the magic of handwork, Ajrakh, brocade, Banarasi weaves, and crushed silks, all reimagined with Abu Sandeep’s signature maximalism. “It’s our vision of the one fantasy night where all come together to celebrate,” they explain.

For a design house that has long balanced revival with reinvention, the challenge lies in transformation without repetition. “At the end of the day, it’s not just the materials, those are available to everybody,” they share. “It’s what you do with them and how you see them in a way that they have never been seen before. That’s how the balance between tradition and fantasy is achieved.”

The show unfolds like a nocturnal story told in chapters, with each collection embodying an archetype from Abu Sandeep’s world of imagination. The Divine Dancers dazzle in Gota and jewel tones, embodying rhythm and celebration. The Muses, dressed in reds and oranges, exude creative power, “their whips, reimagined as couture, are a bit of a provocation,” the duo says, “about control, confidence, and the beauty of boldness.” In contrast, The Devotees bring calm and contemplation through Zardozi, tissue, silk, and Madras checks, “they almost become living offerings, a kind of spiritual surrender.”

Power takes a new form with The Seductresses, who command attention through sharper silhouettes and crystal embellishments from the designers’ new Raj collection. The People of the Street add a touch of realism, “dark, real, and a bit rebellious,” they note, dressed in blacks, greys, and mocha, adorned with oxidised chains, Gota roses, and layered textures. “There’s romance here, but also grit, they carry the poetry of everyday life.” Finally, The Royals close the show in Banarasi and Zardozi, draped in hues of pink, mustard, navy, and aubergine,  “they stand for legacy, grace, and quiet power.”

Complementing the womenswear, a line of opulent menswear amplifies the story. Brocades, crushed silks, mirror-work waistcoats, and earthy-toned safas detailed with Gota stripes echo the emotion of each chapter. “Together, they create this world where devotion, desire, strength, and softness all coexist like different notes in one long piece of music,” the duo explains.

The spectacle culminates in a set designed by A Wonder Room — Abu Sandeep’s interior décor division, transforming the ramp into a piece of performance art. The crimson runway ascends into a stage of red and gold steps, crowned by a massive bindi. “Red symbolises passion, gold conveys glamour, and the bindi becomes a metaphor for awakened feminine energy,” they say.

As the lights rise and the music swells, A Thousand & One Nights unfolds not just as a couture show, but as a story  of craft, courage, and celebration. It’s a world where myth meets mortal, where every stitch tells a story, and where Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla remind us, once again, that true artistry lies in reinvention.

Also, read:

Masters Of Maximalism: Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla