Kriti Sanon collaborates with Anjana Reddy in designing business

After being a showstopper for various designers, Kriti Sanon has now made a foray into designing. On Wednesday, the actress launched Ms. Taken, in collaboration with Anjana Reddy’s Universal Sportsbiz, at an event where she was the showstopper herself, gliding down the ramp in a shimmery black dress.

The collection, targeted for the youth, includes casual and semi-formal garments. The ramp walk itself was a reflection of that, with the models kicking off their heels and having a gala time onstage. Ms Reddy, the founder and CEO of Universal Sportsbiz Pvt Ltd, said, “Nothing about the show was serious — we were all here to have fun and this is what the brand is all about.”

Ms Sanon said, “There are days when I simply want to pair up a classic white tee with blue jeans and, for me, that is fashion. My line is also a reflection of that.”

Ms Reddy added that it took them almost a year to finish preliminary work on the project.

“It’s been a year of preparations. When we started the business, we always knew we wanted to be youth-focused, ” she said. She also explained the strategy behind the line. “There were three categories in the youth space that we wanted to target. We had previously launched two brands — a men’s casual wear range and one in the women’s ethnic wear space. This is probably one of our most difficult projects,” she said.

While aware of the difficulties that one must face to break into the women’s western wear segment, Ms Reddy is ready to face them head on. She said, “Women’s western wear is very competitive because it’s the new age woman we are talking about — someone who is well informed, well read and well travelled. The fit and the product have to be bang on and it took us a year to get that going.”

The entrepreneur waxed sentimental, as she looked back on her journey. “I started the business when I was 23 and now, at 28, I feel I’m getting older (laughs). My mom always taught us to stand on our own two feet and we have been doing that. I'm happy to make my parents proud,” she said.

Ayushmann Khurrana and Varun Sharma also graced the event in a bid to support the actress.