LBM profiles Mani Kohli, acclaimed designer who reflects both heritage and modernity

Mani Kohli MBE is a fashion entrepreneur and founder of the Khubsoorat Collection. Remember that picture of Theresa May, now Baroness May of Maidenhead, in a stunning blue sari? That was a Kohli creation and indicative of the work and expertise that began as a 12-year-old when she learned the art of dress cutting in her native India.

Challenging
Her time in the UK began in the late 1970s under difficult circumstances. She arrived as a 19-year-old bride but her marriage broke down and she rebuilt her life as a single mother with two young children. The new environment was a challenging one for South Asians and Kohli encountered racism, barriers and exclusion yet she persisted against adversity with dignity, independence and purpose. Kohli attributes this, partly at least, to her upbringing in an army family which balanced Indian tradition with Western influence. Her degree in Economics and Political Science added a grounding in strategic thinking which enabled her to unite creativity with business and fostered her entrepreneurialism.

Heritage
Her fashion journey in the UK began at a time when representation for South Asian female fashion designers was virtually non-existent. Kohli identified a gap in the market for contemporary South Asian womenswear that matched Indian heritage with British sensibilities. Starting with a mobile wholesale business with door-to-door sales before opening her first boutique in East London in 1985, she laid the foundations for what has become became one of the UK’s most influential South Asian fashion brands with stores in both London and New York.

Jewels
Kohli’s highlight reel is impressive – to put it mildly. It includes her participation in an Indian fashion show organised by the India High Commission in Battersea Park attended by over 52,000 people, liaison with the legendary Zandra Rhodes leading to an exhibition – Jewels of the East – at the London Textile Museum, and her designs in the films Bend it like Beckham, Amar Akbar & Tony, and What’s Love Got to Do with It? Moreover, in addition to her creation for Theresa May, Kohli’s designs have been worn by many other prominent figures in the world of politics, television and film.

Empowering
Over four decades, the Khubsoorat Collection – khubsoorat means beautiful in Hindi and Urdu – has become synonymous with empowering women through clothing, bridging South Asian craftsmanship with contemporary design, and bringing Asian fashion into visible spaces within British culture.

In recent times Mani Kohli’s work has extended to preserving heritage, via supporting women artisans in India and helping safeguard traditional crafts for future generations.

Recognition
Her MBE, awarded in the 2026 King’s New Year Honours for services to fashion, is timely after what she calls a journey which “began in adversity, but it was shaped by resilience, community and belief. This reflects not just my story, but the many people and communities who walked alongside me.” It is recognition of a life’s work, one that transformed personal hardship into cultural impact, and helped shape the landscape of British fashion through entrepreneurship, representation and legacy.

Mani Kohli is the founder of the Kubsoorat Collection and a member of the LCCI Women in Business committee
www.manikohli.com