Westminster alumna designs dress worn by British PM’s wife Akshata Murty at G20 summit

Manimekala said: “I’m so proud not only to see Akshata in a Manimekala dress, but also that she’s wearing it in India, our shared motherland. And in Delhi - where I lived for a while. I am half Indian, half British, and I am based in the UK but regularly visit India.” 

Manimekala had initially planned to work in the fashion industry for a time before starting her own brand, but upon graduation she was offered the opportunity to stock designs in a Regent Street shop and took the chance to begin her own line. She also began looking for other retail opportunities and saw that the Westminster Creative Enterprise Centre (now Westminster Enterprise Network) was running a pop-up shop, applied and through that was introduced to the Graduate Venture Accelerator (now the Elevate business support programme).  

She said: “Through the Accelerator, I learnt about the basics of how to ideate, launch and run a business, which helped me hugely as I didn’t have any entrepreneurship or business experience previously.” 

Manimekala said: "Growing up, all the women in my family made their own clothing, which inspired me to study fashion and then launch my own brand, Manimekala. I love the rich textile history and variety of traditional craftsmanship across the subcontinent and hope to work with more female-led craft enterprises as my brand grows.” 

Manimekala’s clothing line has been featured in multiple publications, including The Telegraph, the London Evening Standard, The Guardian, Red Magazine and Grazia UK. Carrie Johnson, wife of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, wore one of her dresses to a G7 summit in 2022. 

Manimekala graduated from Westminster’s Fashion Design BA Honours course in 2018. Her eponymous brand specialises in sustainable, slow fashion and centres statement textiles that fuse traditional crafts with digital technologies. She has placed ethics and sustainability at the heart of her brand from its early inception; working with organic, recycled and upcycled fabrics, using non-toxic dyes and making her clothing in small batches. 

Her inspiration comes from her British-Indian heritage and her clothing line is created in partnership with social enterprises both in the UK and in India, including Saheli Women in Rajasthan and Studio Roopali in Bengaluru (Bangalore). 

Manimekala said: “I take steps to mitigate my brand’s environmental impact. But I really believe that the pieces we create are full of meaning and that our customers appreciate that meaning...something can’t be environmentally sustainable if it exploits the people who make it.” 

Westminster’s Fashion courses help students align a sustainable mindset with their own personal and professional goals. 

Learn more about Fashion courses at the University.