The anatomy of a good anarkali

An anarkali is judged in motion, not on a hanger. Everything we do to it — the pleat depth, the yoke height, the weight of the hem — exists to control what happens in the second after you turn.

Start at the yoke

The yoke is the only rigid part of the garment. Sit it too low and the flare begins at the waist, which reads heavy. Sit it too high and the pleats fan from the chest, which reads costume. We settle it just under the bust and pleat outward from the centre in knife folds no wider than a fingertip.

• Twelve metres of cotton mul for a full-length flare
• Knife pleats, 9mm, pressed once and never again
• A hem weighted only by a second rolled edge — never by tape

Then let the cloth decide

Mul is unhelpfully light, which is exactly why it works. It refuses to hold a shape you impose on it, so the silhouette has to come from the cut. Once the cut is right, the fabric does the rest and keeps doing it for years.

The painted vine came later. We wanted a mark that started at the hem and climbed — something that made you follow the length of the piece rather than take it in at once. It is drawn freehand, so it lands differently on every garment.