Sanya Dhir’s ‘Divani’ Is A Love Letter To Nostalgia

At the heart of Sanya Dhir’s ‘Divani’ lies the idea of going back to the roots. And when we say “going back to the roots”, we mean it in every sense. Not just in terms of reviving age-old crafts, but also helping repurpose family heirlooms. For every girl who’s ever dreamed of wearing her mother’s wedding outfit—despite a few signs of wear and tear—Divani offers to breathe life into their family heirlooms.

In a world of fleeting trends, the philosophy of Divani rooted in timelessness feels like a breath of fresh air. In a chat with Manifest, the brand’s founder Sanya Dhir talks about the Divani bride, empowering artisans through her craft, and showcasing at the FDCI Manifest Wedding Weekend!

In Conversation With Sanya Dhir

Manifest: What inspires you to create every day? 

Sanya: Heirlooms and nostalgia about Zardoz, are the main aspects that inspire us to create everyday. For me specifically, it’s about going back to the roots. There is something very specific that we have ingrained in our system—that what we owe to our future, is our past. And if we don't hold on to that, then I think we will not be left with a legacy. So for us, it was all about creating and restoring pieces, and from there the journey of Divani began. Today we’re curating heirloom couture. Everything about each piece, whether it is a batua or an odhna or a bridal couture piece, has a sense of nostalgia in it, has a restored or a revived art under the paraphernalia of Zardoz. And everything that we use, whether it is the pure silk tissue, or the Banarasi textile, is all hand-woven, hand-spun and hand-dyed. 

M: Who is a Divani Bride? 

S: A Divani bride is someone who is rooted to her tradition. She is a maximalist, for sure. Her love for silver, gold, copper and ornate materials is right there in her heart. She is not scared or shy of her bold moves. She is today’s modern woman, yet very, very rooted and traditional.

M: How do you work towards bringing a bride’s heritage to life, what is the process? 

S: The soul of the brand is all about restoration. You can actually bring in your heirloom—it could even be a damaged heirloom—we are proud to be restoring family heirlooms today. It could be your Dadi's batua, it could be your Nani's odhna, it could be your mother’s saree. That's a very important aspect of the brand. We run this vertical under our Zardoz project. It’s primarily to retain the glory of Zardozi. Along with that, every bridal couture piece that we make, has a sense of nostalgia in it. All the artforms whether it is Fareesha, Khicha, Challa, Marodi, everything that we do is a restored and revived technique today. So, there are no new age techniques that we are adapting, we’re bringing back the old. And that helps create the legacy. So, when you’re buying a bridal ensemble, you’re not really investing in fashion, you're investing in heirloom couture which you can further pass down to your next generation. 

M: Is that how the brand empowers artisans as well? 

S: Absolutely, we have around 500 zardozikars, who are adopted by the umbrella of the brand, who not only curate bridal couture, but curate our interiors, which is an extension of the brand. We have beautiful hand curated panels, we do ceilings, soft furnishings, and that has empowered our artisans to keep holding onto their legacy. Believe you me, holding onto something like zardozi, as easy as it may sound, is very difficult and a herculean task. Today, karigars are the core of the brand. We call them the Zardozikar. The whole idea of the craft project that the brand runs is to protect the Zardozikar and then protect the craft. And we very proudly feel this way. Because, if there are no craftsmen, there is no craft. And today to hold onto the craftsmen to the core of the brand, you need to create a holistic environment for them. Just by curating a couple of couture pieces, we don't think we were doing justice. So today, the families are completely engaged with the brand, wherein if the men of the house are doing the surface embroideries, the women are curating the jhallars and the nakshis for us. All the trims for each piece are handmade. Even the meenakari balls—all the hand painting of the Meenakari happens in-house. We do not really source anything that is machine-made. So, every trim of each and every heirloom is handcrafted. 

M: What can attendees expect from your showcase at the FDCI Manifest Wedding Weekend? 

S: A lot of nostalgia, obviously. You will see bridal couture that is curated in pure gold and silver metal as well. You will see the comeback of age-old vegetable dyes with the brand. You will see the techniques of Chata Patti coming together and the techniques of Khicha and Fareesha. Fareesha, particularly, is an age-old dyeing craft under the umbrella of Zardoz and we are very proud to bring it back in full glory this season!

M: What, in your opinion, sets FDCI Manifest Wedding Weekend apart from any other wedding show in the country? 

S: FDCI has been the flagship and the custodian of fashion in our country. There were no qualms that when Divani was taking its major step out to really showcase, we had to be a part of it.

its major step out to really showcase, we had to be a part of FDCI. 

S:  So FDCI has been the flagship and the custodian of fashion in our country. There were no qualms that when Divani was taking its major step out to really showcase, we had to be a part of FDCI.

Styling: Palak Valecha; Hair and Makeup: Neha Singh; Videography: Priyanshu Kharb Production: Varun Shah

If you want to explore the best of couture, jewellery and all things wedding, head to the FDCI Manifest Wedding Weekend this August 2–3, 2025, at the Taj Palace, New Delhi. Register here.