The seventh edition of India Design ID, an exhibition that features the best of luxury designs from India and around the globe, opened on 12 February at the NSIC Grounds, Okhla in New Delhi. The four-day-long event, which concluded on 15 February, brought together around 135 décor and home interiors brands under one roof to exhibit new launches, exclusive showcases, signature collections and stunning installations.
The country’s most definitive design and home décor week, India Design ID 2019 featured renowned brands and designers who showcased the finest in home design and decor, across categories like furniture, accessories, kitchens, furnishing, lighting and more.
Shades of light
DBEL Studio, a luxury lighting brand, launched its latest lines, “Dhahab” and “Lumoon”, at India Design ID 2019.
Dillraj L. Bhatia, founder and lighting designer, DBEL Studio, spoke to Guardian 20 about the brand’s new collection. She said, “The Dhahab lighting collection reflects the peerless design sense that perfectly blends classic influences with geometric shapes and has a contemporary and elegant feel to it. The collection includes a range of table lamps, floor lamps, chandeliers and a light screen which is a lighting installation that can be used as a partition between two spaces.”
Another installation by the studio Lumoon was themed around the different phases of the moon. “This collection”, Bhatia said, “is a reminder of the strong influence this astronomical body has on us.” The installation was exclusively designed for a soon-to-be-launched restaurant in Delhi.
This is the second stint of the brand at India Design ID. When asked how different this edition feels from the previous one, Bhatia said, “This time around, there is an upsurge in brands providing smart and innovative décor solutions.”
From Kashmir with love
E-Commerce brand Sihasn is taking Indian fabrics beyond the category of apparel and using them as upholstery on furniture. Ganesh Shankar, co-founder and CEO of the brand, brought the famous flower motif embroidery from Kashmir’s shawls to chairs with his “Kashmir Ki Kashida” collection at the exhibition. He said, “We exclusively launched ‘Kashmir Ki Kashida’ collection for India Design. This collection is an intricate art of Kashmiri Crewel embroidery, which is from an organisation based in Srinagar called ‘The Crewel.’”
The brand curates fabrics, which are known for their long-standing traditions, culture, and stories from all over the country. For the brand, ID 2019 is the first-ever exhibition on such a large scale. “ID is an opportunity or a platform to showcase our products for visitors to actually touch and feel. We also saw immense participation from the visitors and the footfall is just great. The visitors actually spoke about how different our products are,” Shankar said.
Glass art
Glass Sutra, a glass art studio, launched their functional art collection “Ashtori: The Woven Dreams” at the event. The collection highlights the rich design heritage of India’s Northeast.
Reshmi Dey, founder of Glass Sutra, talked to us about the collection. She said, “The collection showcases two ranges of skilfully crafted motifs purely inspired by weaving. The two ranges include ‘Northeast in the Light’ and ‘Northeast by the Thread’, which are being showcased at the event. They depict the rich heritage of the region through motifs using colours and threads from the Northeast.”
Dey also talked about the current trends that are dominating the home interiors segment. She stressed that this year is seeing a move away from bling, and added, “Trends that are stealing the show this year are minimalistic. I believe luxury should be more towards the things that are out of reach for us.”
Weaves charm
Jaipur Rugs created and showcased modern designs to complement their customers’ personal and professional styles at the event. The brand showcased five collections—namely “Tattvam”, “Anthar”, “Project Error”, “Chaos Theory” and “Unstring”—at their booth.
Speaking about their collection, Yogesh Chaudhary, director, Jaipur Rugs, said, “We are excited and thrilled to showcase a range of best in design collections from Jaipur Rugs at ID Symposium 2019. We believe in empowering artisans and sustaining the age-old craft of hand-knotting, making it the main focus of the brand.”
Wood matters
Beyond Designs launched its bespoke collection of furniture and accessories, “Mystic Secrets”, at ID 2019.
Founder and principal designer of Beyond Designs, Sachin Gupta, spoke about the collection. “As the name indicates, it is inspired by the essence of our heritage to create something hauntingly new for contemporary spaces. How the old is woven into the new to come up with a unique look is a secret that we at Beyond Designs are trying to master. So you have bespoke furniture and accessories that see an exquisite blend of the past and the future,” he said.
Speaking about his experience of associating with India Design ID, Gupta said, “It is always an exciting and the most fulfilling experience to be showcasing our work here at the ID, which is India’s foremost design forum. With newer players entering the domain every year, it only gets better and more exhilarating than before.”