Fashion career profile
Abu Jani
Abu Jani is an Indian couturier and costume designer whose four-decade creative partnership with Sandeep Khosla helped establish a distinctive, highly embellished vocabulary in Indian couture. Before the partnership, Jani worked in film costume design; he met Khosla in 1986, and the two opened the Mata Hari boutique and presented their first collection in Mumbai. Their work has repeatedly brought traditional techniques such as chikankari, zardozi and mirror work into a contemporary couture context, supported by close relationships with craftspeople and an international red-carpet clientele. Jani and Khosla shared the 2002 National Film Award for Best Costume Design for Devdas, alongside Neeta Lulla and Reza Sharifi; this was a team award, not an individual award to Jani alone. In 2026, the designers marked four decades together with Mubarak Baug, a large Mumbai flagship conceived as both retail space and an archive of their design world. Current coverage continues to identify Jani as an active designer and partner in the house.
- Role
- Co-Founder & Designer, Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla
- Nationality
- Indian
- Age
- 66
- Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla — Co-Founder and Designer1986–End not documented · status not documented
- Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla steps into jewellery with Dimple KapadiaFashionNetwork · 2026-09-04
- A Museum, a Store, a Dream: Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla Unveil Mubarak BaugWWD · 2026-08-24
- Early career: Film costume designPenguin Random House's author biography says Jani began his career as a costume designer in film. · Penguin Random House
- Creative partnership: Met Sandeep Khosla in 1986The designers met in Mumbai and began working together; the first boutique and collection were called Mata Hari. · Vogue India
- Craft practice: Chikankari, zardozi and mirror workVogue India describes the pair's revival and couture use of these embroidery traditions. · Vogue India
- Film costume award: National Film Award for Devdas, 2002The award was shared with Sandeep Khosla, Neeta Lulla and Reza Sharifi for Best Costume Design. · National Film Awards
- Flagship and archive: Mubarak Baug, Mumbai, 2026The 2026 Vogue India feature describes the new flagship as a retail space and archive for the designers' work. · Vogue India
- 1986 — Begins creative partnership with Sandeep KhoslaThe partners open the Mata Hari boutique and present their first collection in Mumbai.
- 1993 — Expands into interiorsVogue India's historical profile dates the pair's first furniture line to 1993.
- 2002 — Shares National Film Award for DevdasBest Costume Design award shared with Sandeep Khosla, Neeta Lulla and Reza Sharifi.
- 2026 — Opens Mubarak Baug flagship and archiveThe Mumbai space brings retail, design and the duo's accumulated archive together.