Anita Dongre: taking India to Beverly Hills

Just days before she turned her attention to a new flagship in Beverly Hills, Anita Dongre was in Vadodara, at the historic Laxmi Vilas Palace, preparing for the second edition of Rewild, her Fashion for Good fundraiser that brings together craft, conservation and community. Against the palace’s Indo-Saracenic backdrop, models walked in contemporary silhouettes rooted in Indian textile traditions, as musicians and conservationists gathered for a January evening that reframed the fashion show as a vehicle for stewardship. (The funds are reserved for nature and wildlife conservation.) It was a reminder that even as the brand expands outwards, its centre of gravity remains firmly grounded at home.

That same sensibility now finds architectural expression on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, where a vertical garden rises from the ground, designed by MAD Architects. Dongre’s newest flagship store here opened with pomp and fanfare, courtesy Los Angeles locals and friends of the brand, including actor Poorna Jagannathan and actor-producer Mindy Kaling, as co-hosts.

The store on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills
| Photo Credit:
Arturo and Lauren

(L-R) Poorna Jaganathan, Radhika Shetty, Mindy Kaling, Anita Dongre and Jay Shetty at the store launch

Inside, a pichwai wall painted and embroidered by craftspeople in Rajasthan glows against handwoven furnishings and embroidered lampshades. The space, about 3,000 sq.ft., carries the House’s signature language: contemporary silhouettes framed by centuries-old craft.

The pichwai wall
| Photo Credit:
Arturo and Lauren

The store marks Dongre’s fourth international location, following flagships in Mumbai, New York’s Soho, and the Dubai Mall. It is also a first for an Indian designer in Beverly Hills, an address she describes as “the next step for the brand to cover this side of the world”. “We were one of the first designers to open in the U.S.,” she says over a call on the eve of the launch. “We started with New York and there was always a desire that after a year or two, we would have the second store in L.A. Then COVID-19 happened and things slowed down. It took us about three years to find a location that we were happy with.”

Taking on the West Coast

The L.A. flagship is led by her son, Yash, who oversees international operations. “This store is retailing our bridal wear, which will be targeted largely to the South Asian diaspora,” he explains. “Other than that, we have a lot of occasion wear, resort wear, and red carpet looks.” Including the collection from the Rewild fundraiser. “With these lines, we are hoping to target a much wider audience, do red carpet activations and really make it an international store.”

Anita Dongre with her son Yash

The choice of location is strategic. “When we thought of L.A., it was clear it would always be Beverly Hills,” Yash says. “We want to be in global retail luxury hotspots.” The decision also stems from consumer insight. “We had a lot of clients coming from California to the New York store,” he notes. He points out that the South Asian diaspora on the West Coast “came to settle in the U.S. one generation earlier than the East Coast”, making it an older, more established market with long-term buying power.

Unlike several Indian designers who have entered the American market through department stores such as Bergdorf Goodman or Saks Fifth Avenue, Dongre has opted for direct-to-consumer flagships. “We wanted to control the overall retail experience,” Yash says. “We didn’t want to franchise or do a partnership with anybody.” His mother adds: “The investment is huge but it’s worth it. This works if you’re doing it for the long term.”

At the store launch in Beverly Hills

The Beverly Hills opening also reflects a larger shift in how South Asian luxury brands are positioning themselves in the West. As retail strategist Liza Amlani, co-founder of the Retail Strategy Group, points out, “We’re seeing an emergence of South Asian designers in the western world, especially in North America where the spending power sits.” L.A., she notes, is home to a large and affluent South Asian community, as well as Persian, Arab, and mixed-heritage consumers drawn to culture-driven design. “Californians feel strongly about sustainability, circularity, clean beauty, and now we’re seeing that mindset translate into fashion. Anita’s brand aligns beautifully with that,” Amlani says.

An installation from The Great Elephant Migration at Dongre’s Beverly Hills address
| Photo Credit:
Arturo and Lauren

Experiencing the brand

Dongre’s work beyond retail is equally aligned with the values of a global luxury consumer increasingly attentive to provenance, purpose and impact. For instance, pieces created by women artisans from SEWA Gujarat were integral to the Rewild collection, reinforcing the brand’s long-standing commitment to sustaining livelihoods and evolving traditional skills.

Model in a design from the Rewild collection

Across the U.S., the luxury retail sector has been recalibrating post-pandemic. Customers are still spending, but they are doing so differently — toggling between full-price luxury, resale and off-price channels. “Consumers want to experience the brand, not just buy it,” Amlani observes. “We’re also seeing increased spending in resale and off-price categories [Nordstrom Rack, Fashionphile], meaning shoppers are mixing aspiration with access.” It explains why brands and their physical stores today must offer an experience, not just inventory, and why a flagship like Dongre’s fits that shift.

Second edition of Rewild at Laxmi Vilas Palace

Geography and community matter

In cities like Toronto, New York and now Los Angeles, South Asian visibility has grown rapidly across media and fashion — from Diwali parties hosted by personalities such as Lilly Singh to designer pop-ups, jewellery launches and red-carpet appearances by actors like Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone. “In my lifetime, I never thought I’d see so many South Asian designers, musicians and actors shaping culture in North America,” Amlani says. It’s this growing confidence that creates demand for brands like Dongre’s to build physical spaces of their own.

Dongre’s launch partners for the store, actors Kaling and Jagannathan, reflect the connection and proximity to Hollywood. “Poorna has been a brand friend for many years,” Dongre says. “She’s amazing with fashion. I just picked up the phone and said, ‘Poorna, I’m opening’, and she said, ‘I’m calling my friends’.”

(L-R) Richa Moorjani, Mindy Kaling and Poorna Jaganathan

As an Indian woman now living in London, I understand the resonance. I wore a blue Anita Dongre lehenga for my wedding — one of those striking pieces that make an impact and yet say I’m Indian. I’ve since worn it with a white shirt for several Diwali parties in London. For many women like me, her work fits the space between heritage and modern life, while embodying culture, community and legacy.

Self-funded growth

The L.A. flagship is one step towards the brand’s thoughtful expansion. “Honestly, I believe in a two-year plan,” says Dongre. “In the next two years, there will be no more stores. We’re just going to focus on this one.”

Her flagship joins a growing constellation of Indian names entering or expanding in global retail: Sabyasachi with his jewellery salon at Bergdorf Goodman and standalone New York store, Gaurav Gupta and Rahul Mishra’s couture shows in Paris, Anamika Khanna’s collections at Saks Fifth Avenue, each presenting a version of Indian craft recalibrated for global taste. But unlike many of these, Dongre’s strategy remains mostly self-funded (while the business was previously backed by General Atlantic, her expansion today is increasingly founder-led).

Inside Dongre’s L.A. store
| Photo Credit:
Arturo and Lauren

For international designers, the U.S. remains the ultimate testing ground for scale. “A customer in New York shops differently from one in California or the Midwest,” says Amlani. “No other country offers that kind of cross-section.” In essence, if you win in the U.S., you can win anywhere. And for a brand like Anita Dongre that’s historically been local-proud and global-curious, outward expansion comes with inward balance.

The writer is an independent journalist based in London, writing on fashion, luxury and lifestyle.