Genelia Deshmukh is a style icon. Her occasion wear, especially her Indian looks, are cited as inspiration for ceremonial dressing by brides-to-be and wedding guests alike. A conscious consumer of fashion, Deshmukh’s wardrobe choices are often furthering slow techniques and thoughtful material choices. Recently, to celebrate Anshula Kapoor’s wedding to longtime beau Rohan Thakkar, she made an appearance at the couple’s reception party alongside husband Riteish Deshmukh, where her choice became a matter of fashion headlines—and rightly so. The actor wore an ornate anarkali apropos of featuring in a period drama from New Delhi-based label Divani.
Deshmukh’s anarkali draws upon emblematic design elements of Mughal-era clothing, such as the churidar sleeves, which uses at least twice the length of fabric used to make a regular full-length sleeve for it to gather at the wrist in a snug and artistic fashion. The floor-length anarkali with a simple round neck is worn with a velvet koti (a waistcoat) featuring 17th century tukdi style of embroidery from Uttar Pradesh’s Awadh region, where fabric pieces are cut and tacked onto clothes in shapes inspired by Mughal architecture. On Deshmukh’s koti, gota patti was also used to further embellish the designs. It was fastened in the front akin to a bustier with latkans. The myriad kalis also featured alternating velvet swatches in yellow and green that carried the ceremonial appeal of the garment to its very end. The velvet dupatta with elaborate all-over embroidered paisley and border matching the waistcoat’s sleeve completes the look.
The highlight of the actor’s look was in her choice of accessories. She turned to a hair ornament or a parandi from Divani with moon-like motifs called the chaand butta, which tapered from her nape to her hip over a traditional braid, made in-house by women artisans of the label. Stylist Karishma Gulati turned to elaborate coloured stones and pearl-encrusted chandbalis from Mumbai-based jewellery label, Sanzany Jewels, and rings from Ahmedabad-based brand Khushi’s Art Jewellery. She finished the look with ornate anklets and metallic woven sandals from accessories label Inochhi.
This is not the first time Deshmukh—a champion of heritage Indian textiles and crafts—is wearing Divani. Founded by Sanya Dhir, who is also its creative director, Divani’s made an appearance more than once in the actor’s going-out wardrobe. The most notable one was from 2025, when she wore a lavish gharara set embroidered with pure copper wire zardozi and a one-of-a-kind ek-taar dupatta.
