After finding herself at the centre of a plagiarism controversy, designer Anita Dongre has responded to the allegations.
Following the launch of her Festive/Winter 2026 collection, “Love All”, on August 7, independent designers Mehar Toor of Ada by Mehar and Sachi Raval of Same Sisters shared videos accusing the brand of creating campaigns that were “nearly the same” and “inspired” by their work, without giving them credit.
Sachi questioned the lack of credit and acknowledgement for the creative contributions and ideas of smaller designers. Anita Dongre began her statement by acknowledging that she had heard, seen and understood the concerns raised by the independent designers. She continued, “I know what it is to pour your heart into an idea and build something from nothing. As women building our own brands, I think we understand that feeling particularly deeply. From there came the metaphor of a volley. A game between two people, beginning on equal grounds. Love All. Zero Zero.”
On the other hand, in an Instagram video shared on August 15, Sachi pointed out that her 2023 collection, also titled “Love All”, was a “juxtaposition of tennis, sport and Indian fashion”, themes that feature prominently in Anita Dongre’s recent campaign, which shares the same name. She too acknowledged that “similar ideas can happen independently”, but said what made this case stand out was an incident from a year ago, when ideas from her campaign were shared with a “significant member” of Anita Dongre’s creative team and were “personally and specifically” acknowledged by them. She went on to explain the creative process behind her latest collection, “Love All”, which she said was “born from a belief in love, equality and partnership. Elaborating on the inspiration, she said, “Love All came from a belief I have held for a long time: that lasting love is between equals.
