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Architectural Digest •

[Print] Porus Vimadalal & Prayag Menon's Labour of Love for Nama Home

Photographer Porus Vimadalal
enjoys his eggs with a side of
furniture. “And my mushrooms
too,” quips the Mumbai-based
creative director, who used the said protein
sources to nourish his latest project with his
husband, Prayag Menon: a still life campaign for the metal furniture brand Nama
Home. “I was immediately drawn to their
design philosophy,” continues Vimadalal,
noted for being the imaginative force
behind some of India’s most successful
photography campaigns, including several
projects for Gucci and Apple.
Vogue •

Surat-based designer Priyanka Shah is building furniture that looks like it walked out of a storybook

When she isn’t in her studio thinking about what to make, Priyanka Shah likes to send her imagination to faraway lands, past wispy clouds and azure waters. When she is in her studio, those dreams take on tangible form—wooden half-tunnels for storing pencils and pens, prayer wheels à la Tibetan monasteries and French-style carousels inspired by gaushalas, castles and Rajasthani folktales. The Surat-based product designer, who graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York, has one rule: never dream the same dream again. Which means no two of her creations are the same.
Architectural Digest •

Andblack Design Studio’s Loop series explores the idea of infinity through form

If there is a special talent of Andblack Design Studio, it is to imagine a building and a bulb in the same breath. “Spatial and furniture design are two sides of the same coin,” says Jwalant Mahadevwala, founder and principal designer of the Ahmedabad-based interdisciplinary studio, whose idiosyncratic Weltanschauung continues to shape its multifaceted practice. The studio’s latest Loop series—comprising a swing, a console and a serpentine light—is a collection of curved curiosities that embody the concept of infinity. Each is sculptural yet functional, sitting at the intersection of architecture and art.
Architectural Digest •

Craftsmanship meets innovation in the Dash pendant lamp by Italian brand Ghidini 1961

Let there be light—or perhaps not. That seems to be the ethos behind American architect and designer Johanna Grawunder’s Dash light, a sculptural piece that commands attention whether switched on or off, made for Italian furniture and lighting brand Ghidini 1961. Suspended from a bar, the angular pendant lamp has a rhythmic sequence of translucent grey cast acrylic panels, their upper edges softly aglow. Debuting at Salone del Mobile 2025 in Milan, the luminaire filters light in a geometric danc...
The Local Project •

Finely Crafted Decorative Mouldings by Intrim

Established in 1987 as a timber stairs manufacturer, Intrim has since emerged as a pacesetter in the world of bespoke timber mouldings, collaborating with architects, interior designers and builders to provide perfectly matched moulding. Over the years, Intrim’s identity has evolved to encompass a range of finely crafted timber mouldings. The company’s portfolio includes an assortment of skirting boards, intricate wall panelling, ornate architraves and elegant wainscoting that can be tailored to...
Vogue •

Priya Mani’s food encyclopedia may have originated in Denmark but it has the warmth of a desi kitchen

When Mani and her husband, Vinay Venkatraman, her batchmate from the National Institute of Design and the co-founder of the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design, moved to the Danish capital in 2007, she took to recreating the dishes of her childhood, first as hearty meals for guests, and afterwards, as soul food for her own children. One day, inspired by the book The Illustrated Foods of India by KT Achaya, she started documenting them. “Like many other parents living in a diasporic commun...
Architectural Digest India •

Ashiesh Shah’s showcase at Paris Design Week highlighted India's incredible craft heritage

In the AD100 architect’s creative cosmos, the line between art and design is indistinguishable, underpinned by distinct craft clusters. During the Paris Design Week, the divine Channapatna Chair and Channapatna Floor Lamp—their legs adorned with lustrous wooden beads—paid homage to the eponymous toy town in Karnataka, renowned for its handmade lacquer wooden toys. The formidable Naga Bench, draped in a traditional raincoat woven from elephant grass, drew inspiration from the proud tribes of Naga...
Architectural Digest India •

A new exhibition in Bengaluru highlights worship and celebration through varied craft forms

Anastasio and Baghel exercised a deft touch with their joint collection of metal lamps—designed by the former and crafted in Dhokra by the latter. But look closer, and there’s more to their repertoire than meets the eye. Each lamp embodies celestial aspects of the goddess, re-explores Dhokra art, and serves as a symbolic lesson in light triumphing over darkness. “The pieces continue KAASH’s exploration of light, but this time through the traditional oil lamp. Andrea has deconstructed the archety...
Vogue •

The sprawling gardens at this Bengaluru resort made me feel like I was in Bridgerton

The summer I turned eight was the summer my dad made a thrilling announcement: we were headed on a holiday to the American East Coast. The dates were set, the tickets booked and the accommodations arranged. We were based in London at the time, but we had family in the US, and my dad, ever the saver, was determined to economise on lodging wherever possible. The itinerary was packed with familiar places and names: Washington D.C. with this aunt, New York City with that uncle, Maryland with a recently resurrected second cousin. The only exception was Buffalo, home to the Niagara Falls, which, by some minor miracle—and to my insurmountable joy—had no relative to host us. Instead, the schedule displayed another name: Marriott—a company my uncle worked for, and one that would, in the years to come, remain emblazoned in my cerebral hard drive.
Architectural Digest India •

[Print] Glass Half Full: Lobmeyr x Douglas Friedman

What do Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of the phonograph, and photographer and tastemaker Douglas Friedman have in common? Besides being trailblazers in their respective fields, the two Americans, born over a century apart, both collaborated with the 200-year-old Austrian glassware company Lobmeyr to create things the world had never before seen. In Edison’s case, it was the world’s first electric chandelier; in Friedman’s, a collection of exquisite hand-painted glasses inspired by the spectacular views behind his home in Marfa, Texas.
Architectural Digest •

Glass Half Full

What do Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of the phonograph, and photographer and tastemaker Douglas Friedman have in common? Besides being trailblazers in their respective fields, the two Americans, born over a century apart, both collaborated with the 200-year-old Austrian glassware company Lobmeyr to create things the world had never before seen. In Edison’s case, it was the world’s first electric chandelier; in Friedman’s, a collection of exquisite hand-painted glasses inspired by the spectacular views behind his home in Marfa, Texas.
The Local Project •

In Focus: The Reliquary

The Reliquary is a Los Angeles-based creative workshop that explores the intersection of the historic and the modern in pieces that are elevated with sustainable components. The studio is launching this year with the upcoming release of its first collection. In an age of machine-made and mass-produced furniture and objects, its work stands apart.
Informed by an old-world sensibility, the studio employs traditional techniques and motifs in new, imaginative ways. Each piece is made to order by sea...
Architectural Digest India •

Bindoo by Kumar La Noce gives Indio-Italian heritage a centre stage in Milan

Altreforme is an offshoot of Fontana Group, the producer of avant-garde aluminium parts for luxury car brands like Ferrari, Rolls Royce, and Jaguar. The collection is therefore born from the same know-how and technology, sculpted from the same aluminium as said automobiles, and even shares with them a production facility.Kumar admits that the design process was equal parts visceral and cerebral, and that it took months of work, technical drawings, 3D modelling, and colour studies to realize the...
Architectural Digest India •

Makaan by Tahir Sultan is filled with 200-year-old urns and other rare curiosities

The store is as whimsical as the objects that inhabit it. Old rusted sewage pipes—found and saved several years ago—masquerade as art installations beside artisanal clay pots of Sultan’s own design. Cardboard boxes and bamboo laddersdisplay artwork and vases. Old boxes of incense find new life as pedestals. “People come to Makaan for the experience,” reflects Sultan, who refreshed the aesthetic lexicon last year to reveal its most soigné identity yet: think triple-height ceilings, black stone b...
Architectural Digest India •

[Print] Makaan by Tahir Sultan

The best things in life happen when you least expect them. So maintains Tahir Sultan, the Jaipur-based designer who brought to life a concept store, Makaan, on the very heels of COVID. “I didn’t have a vision when I started,” reflects the Kuwait-born entrepreneur, who put down roots in the Pink City during the lockdown. “I wanted to open a store, but I didn't know where. One day, a friend of my mother’s suggested a house nearby, and said the owner would be happy to rent it to me. But the place had seen better days, and there was just something about it that seemed improbable,” recalls Sultan, before taking a breath, “but not so improbable that I couldn’t make it work.”
Architectural Digest India •

[Print] Bindoo: Through the Looking Glass

What’s the next best thing to owning a Ferrari? If you ask architects Bhavana Kumar and Nicola La Noce of Indo-Italian design practice Kumar La Noce, it’s owning a mirror—or three. The pair’s most recent labour of love, a trifecta of geometric mirrors christened Bindoo, created in collaboration with Italian high-end aluminium furniture company altreforme (an offshoot of Fontana Group, the producer of avant-garde aluminium parts for such luxury car brands as Ferrari, Rolls Royce and Jaguar), is born from the same know-how and technology, and sculpted from the same aluminium, as said automobiles and even shares with them a production facility.
Vogue •

Neeta Lulla takes Vogue India inside her couture archive of iconic film costumes

There’s a song in Darr, the 1993 Yash Chopra-produced megahit, where Juhi Chawla peacocks about the pool in a shocking pink swimsuit. The colour, mind you, isn't what’s shocking. “You have to zoom in to find it,” deadpans Neeta Lulla. “I mean, really zoom in.” By “it”, she means her logo, which, at no more than a fingernail large, has taken me twenty attempts and my toddler’s toy microscope to locate. “It was a dare,” continues the 4-time National Award-winning couturier and costume designer, wh
The Local Project •

The Forever Bottle by Thankyou

Enter award-winning Auckland-based brand design agency Marx Design and Melbourne industrial designer PerCapita Studio, which collaborated with Thankyou to create an iconic new glass bottle for its personal care, cleaning and deodorant ranges. “Being unique as a brand and concept is something that’s mission-critical to us, as well as offering products both in and outside of supermarkets, to allow us to effectively engage consumers to play a role in helping us achieve our mission of ending extreme
Architectural Digest •

[Print] The Dwaar Collection by Ashiesh Shah

In his 20-something years as a designer, Ashiesh Shah has time and again found inspiration in historic objects, but never enough to incorporate them fully into his designs. That is, until last year, when he decided to rewrite his own rulebook. His latest collection, Dwaar, unveiled at the 2024 India Art Fair, comprises 16 objects. Each, save for two, is tailored around one prized artefact, or ensemble of artefacts, mined from his own personal treasure trove.
Architectural Digest •

[Print] Outfitted to the Nines: Abraham & Thakore's New Noida Store

There’s something about legacy design label Abraham & Thakore’s newly renovated Noida office that feels like it could have been conceived in the same breath, and by the same sleight of hand, as one of its collections. It shares with them the same non-conforming bent, the same relaxed spirit, and a local sensitivity that balances, even belies, a global sensibility. So much so, that it might seem that the designers behind the space are no different from the designers behind the apparel. But as David Abraham and Rakesh Thakore, co-founders of the eponymous label, point out, that is all subterfuge.
Kohler Magazine •

[Print] The Wonders of Waste: Up Close With Vinu Daniel

As a student of architecture at university in Kerala, Vinu Daniel had a penchant for going against the grain. “I never aspired to be an architect. I wanted to be a musician instead and I even plotted an escape in my third year [of architecture school],” says the founder of Kerala-based architecture practice, Wallmakers. He was equally disenchanted by the the pedagogy of the course. “It put architecture first and nature second, which was weird—aren’t we supposed to tread carefully?” he continues. A chance encounter with eminent British-Indian architect Laurie Baker in his fourth year of university served as his turning point, inspiring in him an epiphany and motivating him to develop his own architectural ethos.
Kohler Magazine •

[Print] Himalayan Hospitality: Inside the Khyber Himalayan Resort & Spa

Situated at an altitude of 8,825 feet, in the heart of the Himalayan Pir Panjal Range, Khyber Himalayan Resort & Spa in Gulmarg is India's first and only luxury ski resort. The 7-acre property, set in a pristine pine valley, was jointly designed by architects Anil Sharma and Anil Badan, the respective founders of New Delhi-based practices A Sharma Associates and Studio B Architects. Sharma helmed the architecture, while Badan was responsible for the interior design.
Architectural Digest •

Delving into ace designer Ashiesh Shah's 'Dwaar' of perception

In his 20-something years as a designer, Ashiesh Shah has time and again found inspiration in historic objects, but never enough to incorporate them fully into his designs. That is, until last year, when he decided to rewrite his own rulebook. His latest collection, Dwaar, unveiled at the 2024 India Art Fair, comprises 16 objects. Each, save for two, is tailored around one prized artefact, or ensemble of artefacts, mined from his own personal treasure trove.

Dwaar borrows its name from the Sans
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