‘The Singhanias were rich, but the Ambanis were around the corner’: Iconic designers reveal how high society was changing in the 1980s

Fashion designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla opened up about the changing face of high society in the 1980s, when they were coming up in the company of socialites such as Parmeshwar Godrej.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | October 1, 2025 03:54 PM IST

3 min read

Parmeshwar Godrej and Tina Ambani at an event. (Express Archive)

Designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla had wealthy fathers who lost it all, which meant that they were exposed to a good education but didn’t have the financial support they needed to set up their business. So, they combined Rs 50,000 each, got a one-room apartment, and began working at changing the face of Indian fashion. In an interview, they recalled the high-profile Bollywood and industrialist weddings that they witnessed, and said that producer Bharat Shah’s daughter got married in a stadium filled with 20,000 extras. They also recalled being a part of Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh’s impromptu wedding, and designing Abhishek Bachchan’s outfit for his secretive wedding with Aishwarya Rai.

Appearing on Namrata Zakaria’s YouTube channel, they spoke about the sense of freedom that was sweeping over Mumbai in the 1980s, as they described the events they attended together. “We were very fortunate that 40 years ago, every couple of decades later, there is a new generation of wealth. Money was changing hands, and when that generation of wealth changes, that’s when arts and crafts bloom and blossom the most, because there are a bunch of newbies who want to learn…” they said.

Also read – ‘Used to pick up cow dung with my hands, now I party on rooftop of 7-star hotel’: Jaideep Ahlawat is astounded by his own journey

They said that this new generation of wealthy people wanted to experience high fashion for themselves, and they had the means to do so. “We were (coming up) at a time when money was changing hands. The Singhanias were rich, but the Ambanis were around the corner. The biggest wedding in those days was Bharat Shah’s daughter, in a stadium. The bride and the bridegroom came in a helicopter. And the set was Ajooba, that Rishi Kapoor film. They weren’t dummies, they were actual actors. There were around 500 actors in costume posing as real people. There were 20,000 people,” they said.

They said that the concept of the big fat Indian wedding isn’t new. “The Mittal wedding at the Versailles, and of course, we talk about the Ambani wedding today. But every generation, we have witnessed,” they said. However, their impression of Bharat Shah changed around a decade later, when they worked on his production Devdas. Shah was arrested and jailed during the making of the film, leading to major financial hurdles in production. They said that they had a ‘nightmare’ of a time securing payment for their work on the project, which is held in high regard to this day.

Sharing more details about the socialites of that era, they said, “Parmeshwar Godrej was the person around town. Imran Khan was her best friend, and Richard Gere…” they said, adding that there was no delineation at her parties, and if Dom Perignon was being served, it would be served to every guest and not just the VIPs.

From the homepage