Anita Dongre is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of House of Anita Dongre, a brand known for creating beautiful Indian attire in modern aesthetics. Her business has dressed countless brides and grooms across the globe, fulfilling Anita’s dream of giving Indian craftsmanship a global platform. And though Anita has designed only colorful gowns thus far, she is currently working on a line of white wedding dresses, which will exclusively be available at the company’s new flagship store in NYC. Anita also recently became a member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), making hers the first fashion house in India to be associated with the organization. Talk about a trailblazer. Below, the busy fashion boss tells us about her constant traveling. 
How often do you travel? Are these trips mostly domestic or international?
I travel at least once a fortnight, be it to meet my artisans in rural parts of India, for my campaign shoots or various work commitments. I travel a lot more within India, as we work very closely with craftsmen from various parts of the country. 
What type/brand of bag do you use as your carry-on? What do you pack inside of it?
I tend to switch bags, depending on how much I need to carry, and for what occasion. On regular days, I always prefer carrying a tote. Since I don’t use leather, mine is a handmade, hand embroidered jute bag from my brand, Grassroot. This was gifted to me by an artisan and is not commercially available for purchase just yet.
What goes inside:

  1. Earphones. I am always multitasking and I need to access my phone during a call, to refer to a conversation, email or file. A hands-free just makes it a lot easier for me to coordinate when I am in office as well as when I’m traveling.
  2. Sunglasses. They are an absolute necessity in India, where the sun blazes constantly.
  3. Sunscreen. As mentioned with #2, in India, where the sun is constantly blazing, it helps to have a high SPF sunscreen handy. My go-to sunscreen is the Bioderma – Photoderm SPOT SPF 50+
  4. Water. As a reminder to stay hydrated at all times. 
  5. Perfume-Eden by Cacharel. I have been wearing this for about 30 years and it is my signature scent now. So much so that it literally heralds my presence in a room, even before I enter.
  6. Nuts and dates. I tend to get hunger pangs during the day and having this on me helps me grab a quick yet healthy snack.
  7. My iPad & apple pencil. To access mail on the go, sketch anytime, to listen to music when I want to unwind and to jot down my thoughts as well as my to-do list.