Sagarika Ghatge pays homage to her royal heritage with luxury fashion brand, Akutee

Actress Sagarika Ghatge Khan vistied Bangalore to showcase her fashion brand Akutee, that offers bespoke garments in rich fabrics.

Actor Sagarika Ghatge Khan, who hails from the erstwhile royal house of Kolhapur and is a descendent of Maharaja Tukojirao Holkar III, weaves her rich legacy into her fashion brand, Akutee that launched in 2023.

Akutee, which means princess in Sanskrit and Marathi, offers delicate bespoke garments such as saris, dupattas, co-ord sets and more, in subtle pastels and deep jewel-tones. The pieces are hand-painted by Sagarika’s mother, Urmila Ghatge, along with a team of artists. The actor, with her mother and her husband, former India cricketer Zaheer Khan, were in Bengaluru last weekend as part of the Four Seasons Festive Showcase. 

The actor shares how the brand derives a lot from her home and life in Maharashtra. “Kolhapur is home; it’s where my roots are. I grew up there until I was sent to boarding school — Mayo College in Ajmer. But my holidays were always spent in Kolhapur with family and cousins. My values, tradition, love for sports, all come from growing up there,” she says. Sagarika describes Akutee as an ode to all the women in her family who she grew up watching and/or reading about in history, some of whom were princesses, like her great grandmother Tarabai Rani Saheb. “Everything I’ve learnt and seen from them, is what the ethos of the brand is — classic, elegant, and minimal. It is about giving value to what you are wearing,” adds the actor, who is best known for her role in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chak De! India.

The design language in the garments takes a floral route. Intricate flowers grace the pallus of the saris and borders of the dupattas. The designs are hand-painted by the actor’s mothe. “Apart from being an artist, my mum is also very fond of gardening. When I was a child, she used to paint her saris and even my clothes. A lot of her designs used to be florals. Any time there was a new flower in the garden, it would also be on her saris. Today, it is all about bringing them back for our collection. There are so many pieces in our trunks at home. We are inspired by that and are trying to recreate that,” Sagarika shares. The garments range from traditional hand-woven dupattas and saris, to modern pieces like jackets and co-ord sets. The palette ranges from blush pink, lavender and dusty golds, to deep emerald, maroons and copper. Sagarika says, “When it comes to both colour and style, it is not about what is trending today. That is not what Akutee is. Akutee is timeless.”

The design process and hand painting is very personal, she says. The brand has no designers, and Sagarika and her mother are the ones who ideate and create the patterns and motifs. “We are very clear about spending a certain number of hours on each garment. A lot of our collection was easy because my mum had already painted some; she has been painting since she was 16, so we had so many designs ready to recreate,” she adds.

All the fabrics used in the collection are handwoven. One can spot silk, organza, zari thread, Chanderi and Benaras tissue. The dyes that they use are eco-friendly and azo-free, which means they are non-toxic and organic. Sagarika explains how the fabric is the hero of the garment, especially because her aim is to make saris that last for generations. “We are giving importance to the fabric, and not just the art and the embellishment. I would like Akutee clothing to be preserved for three or four generations, just like how I have inherited garments from my family,” she says.

Up next, the brand is looking to expand into crockery. Similar to the garments, they will also be hand-painted. On the personal front, Sagarika is looking forward to doing more movie projects. She recently acquired the rights to an Argentine novel, All Yours, which will be adapted to screen.