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Every category has an origin point, and Indian luxury nightwear traces much of its own back to one woman with no formal fashion training and a wedding to dress for.
A start with no formal training
Suman Nathwani began designing in 1987, with nothing more than instinct, a family wedding to prepare for, and an unlikely source of inspiration: Mills & Boon novels, whose descriptions of what women wore to bed stuck with her long after she'd finished reading. She designed the sleepwear for her sister's wedding herself, and what began as a personal project became the starting point for a business - and, as the brand has long said, the first dedicated luxury nightwear label in India.
From two craftsmen to a full atelier
The label grew from a home-based operation into a full production house based in Kolkata, now employing more than 120 skilled artisans across categories that span everyday nightwear, bridal trousseau pieces, loungewear and swimwear.
On stage and on screen
Suman Nathwani nightwear has appeared in Indian cinema, dressing Amitabh Bachchan in Last Lear, Raima Sen in Chokher Bali, and Bipasha Basu in Sob Choritro Kalponik, alongside private clients including John Abraham, Celina Jaitley, Koena Mitra and Katrina Kaif. The label has also shown at Lakme Fashion Week, participated in Bridal Asia for over two decades, and is a member of the Fashion Design Council of India.
Beyond the runway
For years, Suman Nathwani has also worked with Tata Memorial Centre, offering lingerie counselling and silicone-implant options for mastectomy patients - a quieter, less publicised part of the brand's work, but one its founder considers as central to the label as anything shown on a runway.
A second generation
The brand's Resort line is designed by Khyati, the founder's daughter and a NIFT graduate who trained under designer Amit Agarwal before bringing her own eye for resortwear and swimwear into the family business - carrying the same instinct for what women actually want to wear into a new category altogether.
Nearly four decades on, the idea that started with one wedding has grown into a full wardrobe: nighties, pajama sets, bridal nightwear, loungewear and swim, all designed with the same starting question Suman Nathwani asked in 1987 - what does a woman actually want to feel like, in private?