The mighty, powerful and stately Indian elephant – that’s ace designer Anita Dongre’s brand symbol! And why not? All her designs live, breath and speak Indian ethnicity! Dongre is known for her affinity towards mixing bridal styles with indigenous art and craft! Most Anita Dongre lehengas reverberate this style of fusion! Her bridal lehengas are in bright aesthetic earthy shades with vibrant designs and textures!
Dongre also believes in wearable designs. Most of her lehengas are not embellished over-the-top. She uses a theme for each of her outfits. When designing a bridal collection, Dongre uses ethnic cultures like that of Jaipur, Benaras etc as inspiration. Such Anita Dongre lehengas are mostly in rich reds, vivid purples, wines and berries, bright pinks etc. Her spring-summer collectionsare totally the opposite of this. In this case she uses airy textures, cottons, prints, thread work etc on light pastel shades like creams, sea greens, powder blues, oranges, yellows etc.
Ethnic arts like gota-patti, cutdana,dori, zardozi, Benarasi brocade etc find place in Anita Dongre’s work. Let us look at 25 Anita Dongre lehengas that define exquisite ethnic Indian couture.
1. In the Forests of Ranthambore
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The Rijika lehenga in baby blue and pink bridal is reminiscent of Rajasthan’s Ranthambore!
How? Look the exotic embroidery of birds and forest on the lehenga skirt. The gotapatti embroidery speaks for itself! Paired with jadau jewellery, this lehenga will look great on the bride of a summer wedding! The embellishments of pearls, sequins and resham thread work on the blue silk looks divine!
2. Midnight Dazzles Blue
The bride in this dark midnight blue lehenga looks like glamour personified. This rich blue color is the perfect surface for the exquisite zari embroidery. Sequins and gold zari look great together. The sleeveless, scoop neck choli boasts gold embroidery. The elaborate lower border of the lehenga skirt is a work of art. The rest of the skirt has evenly placed motifs.
3. The Spring Blooms on her Lehenga
This Aliza lehengacomes in a bright ‘orange-ish’ peach hue. The lehenga skirt comes in a rich silk fabric with floral embroidery inspired by the season of Spring. The dupatta and the choli are also replete with embroidery. The flow of this Anita Dongre lehenga is flared.
4. A Summer’s Day
This Aimili Anita Dongre Lehenga is surely going to make a bride look as fresh as a summer morning! This bright mustard yellow organza lehenga comes with exotic floral embroidery in bright and pale pink. This lehenga is part of Dongre’s summer 2020 collection!
5. For Her Who Flies High
This masterpiece of a lehenga, is inspired by the herons who fly across the Rajasthani wetlands. She calls it the ParindaLehenga! The luxurious, rich blue silk is the best base for the Pichwai hand paintings of the herons.
The painting is so flawless and alive that it can be compared to poetry! The work is enhanced with gotapatti embroidery, pearls and sequins. This kind of a lehenga should definitely be paired with expensive vintage jewellery. The rich blue color calls for a necklace is sapphire or ruby.
This is a perfect fit in any Indo American wedding since this lehenga represents the cultural heritage and vibrant colors of the Indian culture.
6. The Bride in Pastels
This bride is rocking her summer wedding outfit. This Anita Dongre lehenga comprises of a heavily embroidered and embellished warm red, almost orange, lehenga skirt and a pastel baby blue simple blouse.
The blouse has elbow-length sleeves and a V-neck with a thick embellished border. The lack of further embellishments on the blouse enhance the jewellery of the bride. The dupattais sheer with a contrasting red border.
7. The Tale of the Wine Red Silk
This wine red lehenga in expensive silk is rich with thread work and embellishments. The lehenga skirt tells a story of exquisite Indian craftsmanship in the form of gotapatti, zardozi, cut danaanddori, embroidery.
Sequins and pearls enhance the work! The choli has a scoop neck and is also richly embroidered. The dupatta is in net and has embroidered motifs all over. This strictly bridal lehenga has been paired with vintage pearl jewellery. Jadau or jarowar jewellery will also go well with it.
8. A Summer Wedding in Pastels
Would you believe that this Anita Dongre lehenga is made out of a fabric that is 50% cotton? Perfect for a summer wedding, this light pastel mustard-peach colorlehenga is adorned primarily in gota-patti and zardozi work.
The silver zari embellishments on the peach surface look fresh. The brides wear simple jewellery – drop earrings and a non-imposing choker. Her make-up is also subtle and muted!
9. Powerful in Pink
This pink bridal lehenga is one-of-a-kind. Usually lehenga skirts are more heavily embellished compared to the choli. In this case, Dongre has reversed this convention.
The skirt is in a shiny silk fabric and has small embroidered motifs homogenously placed all over. The choli is the real beauty of this attire. The elbow-length choli is densely packed with silver zari embroidery and blue threadwork. Sequins, stones and pearls have been used for embellishments. The net dupatta has a thin border and pompom details.
10. Bloom Like the Wild Roses
The perfect bridal attire for a spring-summer morning wedding for the bride who wants to skip the stereotypical reds!This lehenga is inspired from wild roses that bloom in wilderness.
The lehenga skirt is replete with floral embroidery on the pastel yellow surface. The red lining at the bottom of the skirt adds that much welcome dash of vibrancy to the attire.
11. Berry Glamorous
This bride has made a clever choice by deciding to wear this Anita Dongre lehenga. The shade is definitely bridal yet not red. It is in a typical berry sorbet colorand it has been paired with a green dupatta.
Not only are the silver embellishments unconventional, the use of the matcha green in the dupatta on the lehenga skirt forms a beautiful contrast. The jewellery of the bride compliments the attire.
12. A Story in Fuchsia
Dongre is known for her affinity towards vibrant colors and innovative color combinations. This particular bridal lehenga is in a rich fuchsia pink shade that is made brighter by the inclusion of a powder blue dupatta and greyish silver detailing.
The lehenga boasts the double-dupatta style and comes with a heavily embroidered scoop-neck blouse. Apart from gota-patti, the lehenga also has dori, cut dana and zardozi work.
13. All She Wants is Red
There is something sensuous about this lehenga! Dongre calls it the KalkiLehenga and it is in a true red color. Wait! Even the embellishments and embroidery on this lehenga are in red! This lehenga is all about textures.
The net dupatta has a frilly red border and small motifs in red embroidered on it. The thin-sleeved blouse also has red embroidery. The real beauty is the skirt which has elaborate floral embroidery in various shades of red on the rich red fabric..
14. The Bride in Vivid Violet
The beauty of this bridal lehenga is in the bright rich and vivid violet silk fabric it is made out of and the exquisite embroidery it boasts! The scoop-neck blouse and the upper part of the lehenga skirt boast a similar kind of zari embroidery – small silver motifs spread evenly!
The lower part of the lehenga skirt has big floral motifs where sequins and pearls have also been used! Jadau and diamond jewellery will look divine with this bridal lehenga.
15. Red But Not Conventional
This Anita Dongre lehenga is in a typical bridal red color but what makes it different are the blue floral motifs on the exquisitely embroidered lehenga skirt. Zari work, sequin embroidery and zardozi in silver forms beautiful and dense floral patterns on the lehenga skirt and choli. The red dupatta is simple!
16. The Whimsical Bride in Marigold
This Lehenga is called the Mehar Lehenga. This lehenga boasts a bright warm marigold yellow color that is a match made in heaven for Indian skin tones.
This 100% silk lehenga has an exotic charm of its own which probably comes from the whimsical blend of floral motifs on it. Embroidered with resham and zari along with zardozi work,this lehenga will make any bridal ensemble look exquisite.
This gorgeous haldi color lehenga is a perfect fit for any glam and hip occasion. Checkout Haldi Ceremony Dresses.
17. Fresh As The Vines
A very unconventional choice for a wedding function – this lehenga is in a rich cream fabric with floral embroidery in blue and gold. The scoop neck blouse is perfect for pairing heavy necklaces as the one in the picture. It is a great option for a morning wedding, if one can carry it well!
18. Embroidered to Ecstasy
This elaborately embroidered emerald green lehenga is a work of art! The lehenga skirt is dense with zari, resham, cut dana, pearl, dori and sequin embroidery in silver.
The zardozi work glitters on the rich emerald green silk surface. The blouse is unique for it is a long one, resembling the top-like banjaracholis of the tribes of western India. The long keyhole neck blouse has embroidered floral details at the yoke. It has three-quarter sleeves.
19. The Summer of Benaras
This summer lehenga by Anita Dongre uses Benarasi weaving techniques! This cream white lehenga is airy and the gold metallic thread work is sure to make heads turn. The fabric is silk organza. The look aimed by this Alethi Lehenga is that of soft glamour. Checkout Banarasi Lehenga
20. Wildflowers and Wine
The beauty of this Anita Dongre lehenga is the dark wine color. The lehenga skirt,in a rich velvet fabric, is otherwise plain but has printed rustic multi-color wildflowersat the bottom part.
The sleeveless blouse has golden embroidered details. The botanical detailing on the rich color and texture makes it a fusion lehenga which is also opulent enough to get a place in the bridal trousseau.
21. Of Sunshine and Seas
Inspired by the Benarasi weaves of Uttar Pradesh, this Amari Lehenga used gold weaving and embroidery techniques on a greenish-yellow silk organza fabric.
This pastel hue will brighten every Indian skin tone and it is perfect for a pre-wedding morning function like the Haldi ceremony. The dupatta is beautiful with little polka dot-like motifs all over its sheer surface.
22. The Ivies of Spring
This lime green lehenga is essentially for the Spring-Summer season and simply breathes freshness. The ivies embroidered in blue and gold on the lehenga skirt are exotic and the embroidered net pattern on the upper part of the skirt goes really well with the rest of the embellishments.
23. The Golden Forest Flower
Not a bridal color? Dongre calls it the FirakiLehenga! This cream colorlehenga in a mix of cotton and metallic fabric has forest flowers and other wild floral motifs intricately embroidered in gold. Gold tissue work also plays a role in the adornment of this lehenga.
The choli and the dupatta are also thickly embroidered. Jarowar jewellery in gold and diamond will complement this look! This look is for the bride who does not believe in wearing traditional bridal colors on her wedding.
24. The Shadow of Beauty
Though the ‘bridal’ tag can’t be applied on this particular lehenga, it is a beauty in its own right! This lehenga is called the ChhayaLehenga and rightly so! Not only is the color – black – rare in the lehenga universe, the intermingling of different textures also play a game of shadows on the attire.
The silk organza lehenga skirt boasts cut dana and dori floral embroidery and cleverly placed silver sequins glitter like stars on a moonless night. The blouse in silk and the sheer dupatta also have resham, sequin and pearl embroidery.
25. A Daydream in Prints
This out-of-the-box lehenga in beige and pastel hues is perfect for any dreamy day-time pre-wedding function. Boho brides can also wear it for a morning wedding! It is light, fresh and flowery. The vivid floral prints in multi pastel shades gives a very contemporary look to the attire.
To know more about Anita Dongre’s lehengas and design styles, check out her website. If you are looking for similar lehengas, for bridal wear or otherwise, you may also check out GetEthnic.
We at GetEthnic.com are experts team of bridal designer and would makes your dream lehenga outfit completely customized as per your requirement and body type.
We would make an amazing sketch for you and will ship embroidery and swatch samples for your approval and once everything is finalized we’ll make your dream outfit come to life. Click here to get started with your custom made Ethnic Lehenga.
Below is the video that explains as how to take measurements for lehenga:
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