Architectural Digest India – September October 2022

1STDIBS
Handcrafted sculptural chair

by Rinat Design
`4,41,325

STUDIO MÁNMÁN
33 Step chair (large)

M ORGAN CL AY HALL
Say it Again armoire

`18,84,415

SHOP

LOUIS VUITTON
Courrier Lozine 110

`63,73,897

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KARINA SUKAR RITU KUMAR HOME
Outline bench Flora dinner plate

`12,68,266

FABINDIA
Horse rocker

IQRUP + RITZ
Damascus side table,

`90,890

SHOP

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SHOP

RINGVIDE P OLT RO NA FR AU
Weave 86 cupboard The Secret Garden outdoor chair

by Lukas Dahlén by Roberto Lazzeroni

POTTERY BARN MISHA KAHN
Abbott concrete Shaped Potato, Potential,
and Actual (2022)
bistro table
`1,40,000 in fabric, foam, steel,
and white bronze

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 AD ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST 53

Phyllida JayONE Researcher and journalist Phyllida Jay’s third book, Inspired by India, offers an
extensive view of how Indian design and craftsmanship has been exploited,
PORTFOLIO revered, and reimagined at different points in the global fashion history.

AD excerpts key moments.

In Louis XIV’s France, Indian calicos and chintz were so widely coveted
that the government was forced to ban their impor t and sale. Yet
French aesthetes continued to wear them indoors, privately flouting the
law. Fashion history is replete with similar anecdotes of Europeans’
fascination with Indian fabrics and design. In Inspired by India, fashion
researcher and journalist Phyllida Jay charts a compelling narrative of
India’s role in global design from the 1600s to the present. She raises
concerns about colonial exploitation and cultural appropriation that, in
the early days, led to much of Indian design’s proliferation. For instance,
she notes that, in the late 18th century, the Scottish town of Paisley
became so successful in cheaply reproducing Kashmiri shawls that the
Kashmiri buta motif has been better known as “paisley” ever since.

Rising from this complex history, Jay envisions a hopeful vision for
future collaboration—a testament to which is Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s
collaboration with Christian Louboutin—wherein “cultures can inform
one another in respectful, productive, and mutually constitutive, rather
than exploitative ways”. The book is committed to redressing the
omission of Indian artistry from global luxury narratives by positioning
it—not merely as an obscure step in international supply chains or as
exotic fodder for Western imaginations—but as the mainstay of several
pivotal design developments, be it in silhouette or embellishment.

Jay writes, “...to the current pantheon of European craft traditions, we
must add new locales, excavate their own histories of luxury and craft,
and fundamentally rethink the way we understand the global geography
of artisanal excellence.”

Inspired by India will be published in August in India.

Text Swareena Gurung
All photos courtesy of Inspired by India, Roli Books.

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REEVES WETHERELL USING 30 FEET OF EMBROIDERED INDIAN
SARI CLOTH AND MATCHING SKIRT, PART OF A FEATURE, IN THE
1948 EDITION OF LIFE MAGAZINE, ON WHITE SOCIETY WOMEN
WEARING DIFFERENT NATIONAL DRESSES FROM ACROSS THE
GLOBE. A CONCEPT THAT WOULD RAISE REASONABLE CONCERNS
OF APPROPRIATION AND CULTURAL INSENSITIVITY TODAY. (GETTY
IMAGES; PHOTO BY NINA LEEN/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION)

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LEFT: AUDREY HEPBURN WEARING A NECKLACE
INSPIRED BY INDIA FROM VAN CLEEF & ARPELS
AND A GOWN BY GALANOS. (PHOTO BY RICHARD
AVEDON, HARPER’S BAZAAR, 1961) BELOW: THIS
SADDLE BAG (EMBROIDERED AT CHANAKYA,
MUMBAI) FROM DIOR’S AUTUMN-WINTER 2018
READY-TO-WEAR COLLECTION PROVIDES A
REPRESENTATIVE EXAMPLE OF HOW EMBROIDERY
PRODUCED IN INDIA IS WOVEN IMMUTABLY—
ALTHOUGH OFTEN INVISIBLY—INTO EUROPEAN
LUXURY BRAND SUPPLY CHAINS. (GETTY IMAGES)

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ABOVE LEFT: WOMEN’S CHINTZ JACKET, 1750—THIS FITTED
JACKET WAS CUT TO DISPLAY THE SUMPTUOUS CHINTZ
IMPORTED FROM THE COROMANDEL COAST TO FULL
EFFECT. IN THE NETHERLANDS IN THE 18TH CENTURY, CHINTZ
JACKETS WERE POPULAR FOR DAILY USE AND WORN AS PART
OF TRADITIONAL COSTUME. (RIJKSMUSEUM, AMSTERDAM)
ABOVE RIGHT: CHINTZ JACKETS, 1750–1800—MUCH EASIER
TO LAUNDER THAN SILK OR WOOL, CHINTZ SOON BECAME
POPULAR FOR BABY CLOTHING. (RIJKSMUSEUM, AMSTERDAM)
RIGHT: A PAIR OF THIGH-HIGH BOOTS CRAFTED WITH
DELICATE LEATHER STRIPS NAMED “TALL AND DEEP” FROM
SABYASACHI MUKHERJEE AND CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN’S 2017
COLLABORATION. NO LONGER WAS THIS ABOUT FRENCH
LUXURY BRANDS SIMPLY USING (HIDDEN OR OTHERWISE)
HIGHLY SKILLED INDIAN EMBROIDERY, NOR WAS IT SIMPLY
THE NOW FAMILIAR STORY OF EUROPEAN BRANDS HOPING
TO WOO INDIAN LUXURY CONSUMERS WITH CUSTOMIZED,
LIMITED-EDITION PRODUCTS MADE ABROAD. INSTEAD,
THIS WAS THE MEETING OF A HUGELY SUCCESSFUL
AND GROUND-BREAKING INDIAN DESIGNER, WHO HAS
CORNERED THE MARKET FOR REFINED, NOSTALGIC BRIDAL
WEAR, WITH A FRENCH SHOE DESIGNER WHOSE RED-
SOLED CREATIONS ARE ICONIC ACROSS THE WORLD.
(CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN X SABYASACHI COLLECTION, 2017)

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ABOVE: FOR THE 1 JANUARY 1965 ISSUE OF
VOGUE U.S., ICONIC GERMAN MODEL VERUSCHKA
STRIKES A DRAMATIC POSE IN A SWIRLING EMILIO
PUCCI KAFTAN. THE PAISLEY FOR WHICH THE
BRAND IS RENOWNED, HAS BEEN ABSTRACTED
INTO SWIRLING FORMS. (HENRY CLARKE, VOGUE,
© CONDÉ NAST) LEFT: AT A ROLLING STONES
PRESS CONFERENCE, MICK JAGGER WEARS A RED
AND WHITE PAISLEY JACKET. MUSICIANS HELPED
POPULARIZE PAISLEY AS AN ETERNAL MOTIF
OF INDIA AND ITS MYSTICISM AROUND WHICH
SWIRLED THE ASPIRATIONS OF YOUTH, REBELLION,
AND REVOLUTION IN THE 1960S. (GETTY IMAGES)

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RIGHT: EMBROIDERY DESIGNED IN 1996 BY
MAXIMILIANO MODESTI FOR A SPENCER JACKET
BY AZZEDINE ALAÏA. FOR SPRING-SUMMER
1996, ALAÏA INCORPORATED EMBELLISHMENT
BY MUMBAI-BASED ARTISANS WHO USED
BUGLE BEADS AND SEQUINS THAT FOLLOWED
THE LENGTHWISE GRAIN OF HIS SIGNATURE
SCULPTURAL KNITWEAR. (COURTESY OF
MAXIMILIANO MODESTI) BELOW: VERUSCHKA
PICTURED IN THE JAS MANDIR, RAJASTHAN,
WEARING HOODED HALTER PYJAMAS, IN
BLACK WITH GOLD POLKA-DOTS, BY TRIGÈRE.
(HENRY CLARKE, VOGUE, © CONDÉ NAST)

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LEFT: THE BEATLES’ EXTENDED STAY AT MAHARISHI
MAHESH YOGI’S ASHRAM IN 1968 BECAME A HUGE
MEDIA EVENT, CREATING ENORMOUS INTEREST AROUND
INDIAN CLOTHING, YOGA, AND THE CLASSICAL SITAR.
(GETTY IMAGES) BELOW: JACQUES CARTIER VISITS
INDIAN GEM DEALERS IN 1911. THE DEALERS SIT STIFFLY
FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHER AS CARTIER INSPECTS
DAZZLING STONES. (CARTIER PARIS ARCHIVES &
DOCUMENTATION AND CARTIER COLLECTION © CARTIER)

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ABOVE RIGHT: FOR HIS SPRING-SUMMER 1994 SHOW,
CALLED LES TATOUAGES (THE TATTOOS), FRENCH
DESIGNER JEAN PAUL GAULTIER, WELL KNOWN FOR
HIS LOVE OF INDIA, RIFFED ON DISPARATE VISIONS
OF SPIRITUALITY, INCLUDING INDIAN MYSTICISM, THE
ICONOCLASTIC SPIRIT OF PUNK, AND THE ARMOUR-
CLAD, 13TH-CENTURY DEVOTIONAL FIGURE OF JOAN
OF ARC. THE STYLING OF THE MODELS LEANT HEAVILY
TOWARDS WHAT APPEAR TO BE REFERENCES TO TRIBAL
WOMEN FROM NORTH-WESTERN INDIA. IF THEY WERE
TO BE SHOWN NOW, LITERAL REFERENCES SUCH AS
NATH (NOSE RINGS) COMBINED WITH TRIBAL TATTOOS
OR PRINTS WOULD REASONABLY RAISE CONCERNS OF
CULTURAL APPROPRIATION. (GUY MARINEAU, VOGUE,
© CONDÉ NAST) BELOW: ARTISANS AT WORK AT THE
VASTRAKALA STUDIOS IN CHENNAI. (FRANK AMES,
1998) LEFT: BACKSTAGE AT ISABEL MARANT’S SPRING-
SUMMER 2016 SHOW, MODELS WEAR DESIGNS WITH
MIRROR-WORK AND BANDHANI INCORPORATED INTO
MARANT’S SIGNATURE STYLE. (© JASON LLOYD-EVANS)

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La Casa Sul LagoTWO Photographs Gianluca Vassallo and Francesco Mannironi

PORTFOLIO The House on the Lake, or La Casa sul Lago, by Baxter is meant to be
a product catalogue. Yet it is also a poem, a series of photographs;
no names, no labels, no prices, only a pure composition of spaces,
inside and outside, of a structure with bones of stone, lime, and
concrete, the colours of dawn settling slowly on its interiors, and
the views of picturesque Lake Como framed by its tall windows.

One of the finest Italian design companies, founded in 1990 by Luigi and
Paolo Bestetti, Baxter finds its roots way back in time to a century-old
entrepreneurial tradition that flourished on the fertile land of Lake Como.
And in this book, photographed by Gianluca Vassallo and Francesco
Mannironi, the soul of the company is gently revealed.

The Fany coffee table, Nuvola lamps, Joni desk and bookcase, Barret
armchairs, Lazybones Lounge in soft sheepskin, elegant Himani handmade
rug, travertine marble top on the Thalatha coffee table, and solid Keramikè
ceramic tables—leafing through the pages of this book, none of these
product names can be found, only a slow discovery of Baxter unravels, as
curated in this ancestral family villa on the banks of Lake Como in Italy.

In this excerpt, AD finds a moment to reflect on the subtle beauty of
Italian-made design.

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“A house is something you meet: stairs
do not hold its soul, not even rooms
and almost never gardens do it.
Instead, floors carved by steps,
spikes on empty walls, the untouched
walls where the cabinet was, the notes
on the calendar stopped at February 29th
and a bottle of wine left to the person
Who might be tasting it.”

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“A House is something we never meet to look
for its eyes, wherever they might be
hiding, to find its heart, almost always
hidden inside drawers that are protected
by bed sheets, to keep them intact and
to prevent heart from running away.”

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“A house is something you meet
to get in contact with all those people
who have in it and made it a home,
in order to offer a volume to the
new awareness that will be added
to the previous ones, a proper space
for joy, yet able to embrace pain.”

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“Last, It is a place where to find yourself
alive, outside the outer world, in a one
we have imagined, wished and made
to our image and likeness: because,
once we are going to be somewhere else
to meet our next home and to toast
to life with the wine someone will have left
there to wait for us, we will be the world
someone will meet, the eyes someone
will look for, the heart inside that drawer,
the laughs on the sofa, this is what
the La Casa sul Lago has been to me.”

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“To look for the signs of its story within
a completely new one that is starting today
for her. The story that Baxter would like
you to meet here, on Como Lake,
or within these pages, wherever you
might be reading them.”
Words by Gianluca Vassallo (translated from Italian)

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Sanjay GargTHREE Text Arshia Dhar
Photographs Studio Suryan // Dang
Portrait Amlanjyoti Bora

PORTFOLIO As Raw Mango arrives in Chennai, AD visits its newest flagship boutique—
the fifth after Mumbai, Bengaluru, and two Delhi outlets in Lodhi Colony
and Angoori Badi—housed in an Art Deco villa from the 1960s. Founder-
designer Sanjay Garg takes us through the journey of bringing the space to
life, from spotting the perfect new home for his label to imparting his own
style and wisdom to make it his own. Garg’s attention to detail has only
cemented his brand’s unique identity even better with this Chennai anchor.

The designer has mindfully built on the existing structure that
once belonged to a family, preserving much of its past while
also adding his own distinctive signature to its blueprint with a
smattering of antiquities and collectibles in every nook. Garg’s
genius is boundless. A collector, a gallerist, and an architecture
enthusiast, in addition to being a textile and fashion designer—in
this new store his many facets and talents find a confluence, while
remaining within the brand’s vision, which, Garg says, is ever-evolving.

The boutique is called Malligai, meaning jasmine, a flower that has
long been the designer’s muse. And what better way to pay homage
than to shower his new home with mogras on opening day, as the
breeze sang to the tunes of the shehnai.

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BELOW LEFT: SANJAY GARG. BELOW RIGHT: THE CHENNAI OUTLET
BUILDS ON THE ART DECO BONES OF A FORMER FAMILY HOME,
WHICH IS SURROUNDED BY A LAVISH FRONT LAWN SHROUDED BY
A CANOPY OF TREES. BOTTOM: THE ENTRANCE TO MALLIGAI—ITS
STRIKING WHITE FAÇADE BEAUTIFULLY OFFSETS THE SURROUNDING
NATURAL PALETTE OF
GREENS AND BROWNS.

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RIGHT: A TOP ANGLE VIEW OF THE STAIRCASE LEADING
TO THE FIRST FLOOR OF THE STORE. BELOW LEFT: A
CORRIDOR OF CURIOSITIES, SHOWCASING GARG’S
COLLECTION OF CERAMIC DOLLS, FLEA-MARKET
FINDS, AND ANTIQUE BUSTS. BELOW RIGHT: THE
TRIANGULAR CRESTS OF THE CUPBOARDS WERE
INSPIRED BY HOME CHAPELS AND CHURCH FURNITURE
IN GARG’S COLLECTION. THE UNIQUELY SHAPED
CHANDELIER ADORNING THE CEILING IS VINTAGE.

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ABOVE LEFT: A VIEW OF THE STAIRCASE LEADING
TO THE FIRST FLOOR. A BUST OF RAMA VARMA XV,
ERSTWHILE RULER OF COCHIN, IS STATIONED NEAR
THE ENTRANCE. ABOVE RIGHT: THE STAGGERED EDGES
OUTLINING THIS DOOR TO A CABINET ARE AN EXTENSION
OF THE DECO DETAILS USED IN OTHER PARTS OF THE
STORE. RIGHT: THIS WOODEN CHAIR IS A REPLICA OF
AN ANDRÉ SORNAY CHAIR DESIGNED IN THE 1930S.

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ABOVE LEFT: A STATUE OF ST. ROCCO STANDS FACING THE DOOR TO
THE MAIN ROOM ON THE GROUND FLOOR. ABOVE RIGHT: THE GEOMETRIC
DETAILS ON THE DOORS OF THESE CABINETS ARE BASED ON A DESIGN
(CIRCA 1940) BY T.H. ROBSJOHN-GIBBINGS. BELOW: AN ANTIQUE
WOODEN VITRINE WITH A FIGURE OF A WOMAN—THE TRIANGULAR
VAULTED CEILING IS AN EXTENSION OF A SHAPE USED ELSEWHERE
ON MIRRORS AND THE CUPBOARDS IN
THE MAIN ROOM ON THE FIRST FLOOR.

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tepping into Malligai, which means not only houses a pièce de résistance Art
jasmine in Tamil, is a sensory experience Deco light (among several other features
that can be paralleled by few others. True from its past), but also cabinets inspired
to its name, the boutique is a testament by home chapels and church furniture.
to the brand’s—and founder-designer According to Adityan Melekalam, visual
Sanjay Garg’s—long-standing obsession creative director at Raw Mango, this and
with the flower, hallmarked across their Lodhi Colony store in Delhi are
5,400 square feet spread over a two- perhaps the only ones that retain a
storey building in the quiet environs of watered-down version of their original
Cenotaph Road in Chennai. The villa’s architectural inspirations, owing to how
walls are an elegant white, and on the structures naturally metamorphosed
opening day, every inch of the premises over time, and that, in a way, poignantly
was wrapped in mogras, adding appro- mirrors their larger brand philosophy. “I
priately to its seductive charm. think this constantly evolving factor is
very exciting for Raw Mango because we
S This new address, touted to be its are like that. There are a lot of contra-
largest retail space yet, also has a history dictions in our ideas and things are always
dipped in the kind of vintage you’d only in motion here,” he says.
associate a brand like Raw Mango with—
fiercely rooted yet eclectic. It’s an This takes us back to the label’s launch
antiquarian wonderland dotted with in 2008, when Garg’s official journey
curiosities collected by Garg through his began with Chanderi, and a desire to
life. They are perched on walls that reveal refocus the cultural lens on the sari, along
the Art Deco bones of the villa’s past as a with the local craftsmanship that brings it
family home, and later a restaurant. “The alive. “It was almost a dream for me to
first thing that I really loved about this have Chanderi be treated like a high-end
home was how it did not overwhelm me. fabric. At that time, I also did not agree
It is surrounded by beautiful trees and has with the popular idea that the sari is not a
accessibility. And yet, it is not even modern garment,” he recalls. Back then,
perfect; there are elements in it that I saris would not comprise entire coll-
didn’t like, but that is what added a hint ections, which led Garg to question the
of unexpectedness to it,” Garg says. lack of representation of the common
Interestingly, it’s in these unpredict- Indian woman in fashion, and spurred
abilities that the designer sought warmth his creation of a space where weaves like
and room for his garments. Rounding off brocade and mashru would be granted
his love for design is his interest in the dignity they deserved. “The mashru
architecture, which once again, has sari didn’t even exist!” Garg adds. Al-
manifested in the form of Malligai that though his ideas are birthed in textiles,
was put together in-house, entirely. “I they reflect in every detail that con-
had been to Tamil Nadu many times stitutes Raw Mango—from collection
before, but back then I did not know names and campaign designs to the food
the history of how Art Deco came to served and music played at the different
Chennai. There are a hundred different outlets, determined by their individual
kinds of houses that you will find here, heritages and situatedness.
but this lies somewhere between not
being too new or too old. I love how this “Given the singularity of what it
middle-class family living in the ’60s creates within textiles and silhouettes, or
adopted the Deco style. It’s quite exciting branding and events, it’s always amazing
and allows you to play around with it,” to see the impact the brand has had on
he says contemplatively. the larger design and fashion com-
A prodigious, single-piece, circular munities; it really has shifted aesthetics
iron table—paired with equally heavy across all these areas dramatically,” says
iron chairs—sits sombrely on the lawn; strategic director Malika Verma, rem-
once inside, the floors come alive with inding us why the label continues to be
vibrant mosaic patterns that are inherently relevant—because it questions the
sepia-tinted. Malligai is a palimpsest of its process, and creates originals from the
successive inhabitants, and at present, it old, much like how their eccentric new
home in Chennai was crafted.

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TAHIRA RENAISSANCE MAN
WITH A FLAIR FOR THE
OUTRÉ, HALF-KUWAITI,
HALF-INDIAN DESIGNER
A N D C H E F TA H I R S U LTA N
WELCOMES AD INTO HIS
BOLD AND BROODING
JAIPUR APARTMENT.

WRITER VAISHNAVI NAYEL TALAWADEKAR
PHOTOGRAPHER PANKAJ ANAND

TAHIR SULTAN STANDS AT THE ENTRANCE OF HIS JAIPUR HOME—ON EITHER SIDE OF SULTAN
THE STAIRCASE ARE POTS MADE BY A LOCAL COMMUNITY OF POTTERS, WITH WHOM HE
REGULARLY COLLABORATES. THE PINKISH TONE OF THE WALLS IS A NOD TO THE PINK CITY.

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ALL THE LIVING ROOM FURNITURE WAS DESIGNED BY TAHIR HIMSELF, AND EXECUTED AND UPHOLSTERED BY A LOCAL CARPENTER. THE FAR WALL FEATURES
A PAIR OF “WALL ANGELS” THAT TAHIR CREATED USING STRING AND BAMBOO WINNOWING BASKETS. AHEAD OF IT, A POT SOURCED FROM THE DESERTS OF
WESTERN GUJARAT TAKES PRIDE OF PLACE ATOP A NAGA SIDE TABLE. TO THE LEFT, AN OLD WINDOW GRILLE FINDS NEW LIFE AS A WALL INSTALLATION. THE
COFFEE TABLE, DESIGNED BY TAHIR FROM A SINGLE BLOCK OF WOOD, DISPLAYS AN ANTIQUE BRONZE BOWL ORIGINALLY USED FOR TEMPLE OFFERINGS,
A SILVER FLEA-MARKET TRAY, AND A RUSTED METAL COG—REFASHIONED AS A CANDLE HOLDER—WHICH TAHIR SALVAGED FROM A CAR JUNKYARD.

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IN THE MAIN BEDROOM, A MODERNIST DESK—PURCHASED LOCALLY—DISPLAYS A MENAGERIE OF OBJECTS. THE SILVER PARROT AND COCKATOO
WERE SOURCED FROM ANTIQUE DEALERS IN JAIPUR AND AHMEDABAD RESPECTIVELY. THE MIRROR AND STONE HEAD ARE FROM A VENDOR IN
WESTERN GUJARAT. A LION SCULPTURE, PURCHASED FROM A PRIZED FURNITURE DEALER, STANDS SENTINEL UNDER THE TABLE, WHILE A PEACOCK JUG,
ORIGINALLY USED AS A HAND-WASHING DEVICE, SITS ATOP IT. FACING PAGE: THE GUEST BEDROOM FEATURES A KING-SIZE BED DESIGNED BY TAHIR,
AND ABOVE IT, A WALL ANGEL. NAGA GRAIN POTS FLANK EITHER CORNER OF THE BED, WHILE A TALL POT, SOURCED FROM THE DESERTS OF WESTERN
INDIA, STANDS GUARD TO THE RIGHT. THE TABLE HOLDS AN ARRANGEMENT OF OLD SPITTOONS AND NAGA STOOLS THAT DOUBLE AS CHEESE BOARDS.

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LEFT: ONE CORNER OF THE MAIN BEDROOM
PLAYS HOST TO A SOFA OF TAHIR’S OWN
DESIGN. ABOVE IT IS A WALL INSTALLATION
THAT TAHIR CREATED FROM A JALI LYING
DISCARDED IN THE GARDEN. A NAGA GRAIN-
COLLECTOR’S TABLE, SOURCED THROUGH A
DEALER, TAKES CENTRE STAGE. BELOW: OLD
WOODEN NAGA IDOLS FROM TAHIR’S
PERSONAL COLLECTION. FACING PAGE: THE
MAIN BEDROOM IS ENLIVENED BY ANTIQUE
MAROON HAND-EMBROIDERED TEXTILES,
BOUGHT IN ALEPPO AND MADE BY NUNS.
THE BRONZE SHIVA TORSO WAS PICKED
UP IN GUJARAT, AS WERE THE ANTIQUE
CAPES NOW FRAMED ABOVE THE BED.

"While I enjoy entertaining, it’s
a small part of what I do. A lot
of my time goes into projects that

inspire social change.” —Tahir Sultan

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THE CONTEMPORARY DINING ROOM—ONE OF TWO—FEATURES A CLAY PORCUPINE OF TAHIR’S OWN DESIGN. ON THE WALL, THE BACK OF A CARPET HAS BEEN REPURPOSED
AS AN ART INSTALLATION. ANOTHER CARPET, HAND-KNOTTED IN FELT, AND SOURCED FROM A TRUSTED VENDOR, ADORNS THE FLOOR. FACING PAGE: OLD TRUCK TYRES WERE
REINCARNATED AS A PAIR OF POTS BY TAHIR HIMSELF. BEHIND THEM SITS A LARGE POT ORIGINALLY USED ON TRADE ROUTES, SOURCED FROM THE DESERTS OF WESTERN GUJARAT.

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THE SECOND DINING ROOM, A FLAMINGO PINK, STARS ORIGINAL ART DECO JALIS, ART DECO–INSPIRED MIRROR TABLES, AND NAGA BOWLS ORIGINALLY USED BY
TRIBESMEN AT MEALTIMES. THE CEILING LAMPS ARE ORIGINAL 1969 OFFICE LAMPS AND THE TABLECLOTH IS AN OLD SARI SOURCED FROM AN ANTIQUE STORE. THE
STAR-SHAPED PLATES ARE FROM ECRU, WHILE THE MERMAID-INSPIRED GLASSES AND NAGA-STOOLS-TURNED-CHEESE-BOARDS ARE SOLD AT TAHIR’S STORE, MAKAAN.
THE CHAIRS, DESIGNED BY TAHIR, WEAR DAZZLING EMERALD FABRIC SOURCED LOCALLY IN JAIPUR. “THEY CHANGE THEMATICALLY TO SUIT THE OCCASION,” HE SAYS.
A SELECTION OF BOWLS AND SPITTOONS, SOURCED FROM ACROSS INDIA, ADORN THE TABLE. FACING PAGE: INDIGO WALLS WITH GOLD-AND-WHITE HAND-PAINTED
HERONS ARE THE TOUR DE FORCE OF THE CHINOISERIE ROOM. ANTIQUE CHINESE TILES EMBLAZON THE CENTRAL ALCOVE, SERVING AS A BACKDROP TO HAND-
EMBROIDERED CUSHIONS BY JAISALMER-BASED NGO I LOVE JAISALMER. THE OLD DHURRIE WAS PULLED OUT OF A DUSTY TRUNK AT AN ANTIQUE STORE IN GUJARAT.

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THE KITCHEN SERVES AS A MAGIC CAULDRON FOR TAHIR’S EXCLUSIVE DINNER PARTIES. ALL THE BRASS WAS SOURCED
FROM GUJARAT. THE CLAY POTS, IN WHICH HE SERVES FOOD, WERE CREATED BY A LOCAL POTTING COMMUNITY.

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t change was given new impetus upon about it. “It’s modernist yet whimsical,” he
moving to Jaipur, when he started wor­ declares, although he is the first to admit
Tahir Sultan’s home in Jaipur is an unlikely king with a potter community in Alwar that the interior is yet unfinished. “But it is
cabinet of curiosities. In the swell of after­ in an effort to facilitate steady work for a manifestation of me, and certainly ideal
noon light that fills the room, Tahir—of them through the pandemic. Their pots for this chapter of my life.” This chapter
lean build, alabaster skin, slicked­back are now something people associate with would be the one post pandemic, when
hair, and an aquiline profile—tells me the his brand, he tells me. Tahir was locked down in India along
story of how he acquired it. “I was living in with his mother—he in Jaipur, she in New
the apartment downstairs when these two Tahir is a maverick entrepreneur who Delhi. “I have not been back to Kuwait
were being built. It had a wild garden with owns multiple businesses including since; my clothes and shoes probably
peacocks and birds of all kinds. I requested Makaan, a concept store in Jaipur for arte­ think I have died,” rues the fashion
the landlord to reserve one apartment for facts and objets d’art. He is also known designer turned chef, confessing that he
me. Then, I asked him for another one in the right circles for his pan­India doesn’t miss much about the country he
adjacent to it, and he graciously obliged,” gourmet catering business, specializing once called home.
he says of the top­floor twin rentals in Middle Eastern cuisine, which was
that he designed and decorated himself, born out of the much­loved dinners he As we move through the home, it’s
and which are located just strides away would routinely host for India Art Fair’s clear that Tahir has a penchant for anti­
from Jaipur’s famed Bar Palladio. These collector circle at his apartment in Delhi. quity. The foyer is contained by earthy
days, he has his hands full, having just His community of friends in India is an pink walls while handpicked Sultani
returned from Bali, a leisure trip–turned– eclectic mix of movers and shakers, who, roses spill elegantly out of earthenware
“workation” from where he insists he has he says, do a great job feeding and fuelling flanking the staircase. In the living room,
returned “whiter than he left”. his creativity. In his spare time, he scours a distressed window grille masquerades
the desert for treasures, salvaging old pots as an objet d’art. And faded five­foot­
From his white T­shirt—of which he and urns used on trade routes to bring tall urns, found by him on a trade route,
owns 70—and an avant­garde decon­ back to his store—and his home. He has stand sentinel in the guest bedroom. As
structed pyjama set that he designed also secured a spot as an incontrovertible he gets up to refill his drink, he invites me
himself, it is evident that Tahir’s discer­ insider in India’s design firmament, having over to the bar, a Chinese­style speakeasy
ning eye isn’t limited to his wardrobe designed beautiful homes for his friends with mustard sofas, antique green Chinese
alone. Cocktails and comestibles present and acquaintances. “I’m more Indian than tiles, and golden herons hand­painted
immaculately before us: Lebanese mezze most people know, you know,” he says, on indigo walls. “I was planning to do it
dips in locally crafted earthenware, a with a smile. myself but had to call in an artist for lack of
selection of cheeses on a Naga stool, time,” he shares.
freshly made martinis—one of which The son of a Kuwaiti father—Ghazi
he graciously offers me, unaware of my Sultan was a Harvard­educated architect Growing up, Tahir visited a lot of
teetotalism, and later amusedly replaces who had studied urban planning under museums and art galleries. His father and
with an orange­blossom nimbu pani. Walter Gropius—and an Indian mother, aunt were responsible for opening the
The paper napkins are a curious brown, he grew up all over the world, spending Sultan Gallery—the Gulf’s maiden art
because as he so eloquently puts it, his formative years in Kuwait, summ­ gallery—providing a platform to artists like
“They’re made of recycled paper. It’s ering with family in London, and moving Dia al­Azzawi, and inspiring such foreign
better for the environment and just so to Florence to study Renaissance and artists as Andy Warhol to visit Kuwait
much more chic.” His proclivity for social modern European art history during his and exhibit their work. His mother was a
final year of high school. Then, in a bid ceramicist who later turned to landscape
to seek direction, he moved to London, art. Over the years, the family has garnered
where Zaha Hadid, a close friend of a sizable collection of modernist Arab and
the family, advised him to apply to the Indian art. In Jaipur, Tahir’s art repertoire
Architectural Association School of is equal parts old and new. Kasturbi glazed
Architecture. He applied, got selected, pots from Borneo, Art Deco tableaux, and
and dropped out, all in quick succession, Naga stools sit on the same plane as some
before switching paths and opting for a of his own opuscules, including gigantic
fashion degree at Central Saint Martins. vases made of old tyres and “wall angels”
But really, Tahir’s watershed moment magicked out of string and bamboo
came long before, during the 1990 inva­ winnowing baskets.
sion of Kuwait, when the family moved
to New Delhi, giving him a brand new For Tahir, the pace and space that
window to his roots. Jaipur has to offer is a welcome change
from his past. “While I enjoy entertaining,
Today, in his Jaipur home, the living it’s a small part of what I do. A lot of my
room is a brooding grey bolthole with time goes into projects that inspire social
larger­than­life antiques and museum­ change,” he says. Ask him where home
worthy tchotchkes. And contrary to my is and he is quick to answer: “Wherever
expectations, there’s nothing debonair I am.” For now, that would be Jaipur.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 AD ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST 87

TAHONILDMFIGDMEEYRE

TRANSFORM A GRAND MANSE

IN FLORIDA INTO A FAMILY-FRIENDLY OASIS

WITH THE HELP OF MARTYN LAWRENCE BULLARD.

WRITER ARIEL FOXMAN PHOTOGRAPHER DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN STYLIST ANITA SARSIDI

THE LIVING ROOM FEATURES CURTAINS BY MARTYN LAWRENCE BULLARD FOR THE SHADE STORE. THE SOFA AND SLIPPER CHAIRS (IN KRAVET
TEXTILES) AND COCKTAIL TABLE ARE ALL BY MARTYN LAWRENCE BULLARD ATELIER. THE OTTOMAN IS FROM MECOX, AND THE RUG BY STARK.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 AD ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST 89

TOMMY HILFIGER (WEARING TOMMY HILFIGER MENSWEAR THROUGHOUT) AND HIS WIFE, DEE (IN HER OWN CLOTHES
THROUGHOUT), JOYRIDE ON FLORIDA’S INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY, JUST OUTSIDE THEIR NEW PALM BEACH HOME.

90 AD ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 AD ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST 91 HAIR AND MAKE-UP/GROOMING BY ALEXA RODULFO USING LA MER FOR ESTÉE LAUDER & GAMA ITALY

ABOVE: TWO ANDY WARHOL FLOWERS PAINTINGS ENLIVEN
A CORNER OF THE LIVING ROOM, WHICH ALSO FEATURES A
VINTAGE BRONZE-AND-PLASTER CHANDELIER FROM 1STDIBS;
A LACQUERED TABLE AND SWIVEL CHAIRS, ALL BY MARTYN
LAWRENCE BULLARD ATELIER; AND A CUSTOM SURFBOARD.
LEFT: PALM TREES, FICUS HEDGES, AND GARDENIA BUSHES
LINE THE SWIMMING POOL. SERENA & LILY CHAISES LONGUES,
WITH CUSHIONS IN VINCENT VAN DUYSEN FOR PERENNIALS
FABRICS, TAKE SHADE UNDER A SERENA & LILY UMBRELLA.

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© 2022 THE ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION FOR THE VISUAL ARTS, INC. / LICENSED BY ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK. "We ABOVE: THE PRIMARY BEDROOM INCLUDES AN IRON BED BY
KATHRYN M. IRELAND, CURTAINS AND WINDOW TREATMENTS
BY MARTYN LAWRENCE BULLARD FOR THE SHADE STORE;
AND SYRIAN MOTHER-OF-PEARL NIGHTSTANDS FROM
BERBERE IMPORTS. LEFT: A SELECTION OF HANDBAGS
BY DEE OCLEPPO HILFIGER FOR JUDITH LEIBER SITS
ATOP A DESK TURNED DRESSING TABLE FROM MECOX.

always liked being
on the water.... It’s beautiful

to look at morning, noon,

and night.” —Tommy Hilfiger

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 AD ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST 93

94 AD ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022

HAIR AND MAKE-UP/GROOMING: ALEXA RODULFO USING LA MER FOR ESTÉE LAUDER & GAMA ITALY.
TOMMY AND DEE IN THE HOUSE’S INTERIOR COURTYARD. THE BOOMERANG WICKER SOFA IS FROM DESIGN MIX FURNITURE.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 AD ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST 95

A WHITE PLASTER CHANDELIER FROM CIRCA LIGHTING HANGS ABOVE A CUSTOM WHITE OAK DINING TABLE BY MARTYN LAWRENCE BULLARD ATELIER AND VINTAGE FRANCES
ELKINS DINING CHAIRS, COVERED IN WESTBURY TEXTILES FABRIC. THE VASE—AN ANTIQUE CHINESE WATER URN—AND 1970S VINTAGE BAMBOO MIRROR ARE FROM MECOX.

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T “We definitely wanted to experience Moorish accents, and we’ve also got
something different.” Adds Tommy, splashes of blue and white.”
Tommy and Dee Hilfiger are no “We always liked being on the water, but
strangers to waterfront living. For years this was a pleasant surprise because it’s Ironically, Bullard aimed to bring the
the designer couple took respite at a not quite as windy, and it’s beautiful to outdoors inside “by stripping the house
Golden Beach, Florida, home with look at morning, noon, and night.” back, bleaching the wood, and adding
100 feet of ocean frontage, and they more patio space”, he says. “We then
continue to retreat to a vacation home “We’re still figuring out what we like chose to bring in the foliage—the giant
on Mustique, in Saint Vincent and and don’t like,” explains Dee, who palm trees—to break down the barriers
the Grenadines, where the estate’s mentions that while they have made and ease the feeling throughout.”
swimming pool laps up against the this residence their home, the family can
sands of the Caribbean. also contemplate potentially living at Asked about his uncanny ability to
two other nearby houses they also shorthand with his clients, Bullard points
Still, when the duo decided to decamp happen to own. “We had never lived in out that this is the fourth home the trio
from their residence in Greenwich, Palm Beach, so this is a fun transition.” have done together, as well as a big hotel
Connecticut, and make a full-time move project. “So I know them very well,”
to Palm Beach, Florida, last year, they The couple’s chief Palm Beach he declares. “I know the way both of
pondered a new kind of frontier. “We fell residence—how many people can say them pick because they’re both fashion
in love with this home and the fact that it that?—is a 5,000-square-foot three- designers. Like me, they love continuous
was on the lake and on the lake trail,” bedroom Mediterranean-style house evolution. And they love many different
says Dee, referencing the west side built in 2006. There are columns and facets of design and the ideal of how to
of Palm Beach overlooking the Intra- arched ceilings everywhere you look, live within that. Plus, it’s also helped
coastal Waterway, Lake Worth Lagoon. along with plenty of courtyard nooks that I’ve travelled with them, been on
and verdant gardens. “We have a much vacation with them, been on their yacht.
more active lifestyle here,” says Tommy, We’ve seen a bunch of things together
who sold the Connecticut residence in that have been inspiring, that have
addition to the family’s Miami and New become part of our shared vocabulary.”
York City places. “Exercising, tennis. In
the Northeast, living in Greenwich, we “Tommy in particular has very set
were commuting in and out of the city. ideas and parameters, and Martyn
And we didn’t have the weather to be knows that,” remarks Dee. “Tommy
able to be outdoors a lot.” Adds Dee, likes things clean, and he likes hints of
“Palm Beach is so green and so lush pattern. Like, maybe on a pillow. It’s
year-round. Every time someone gives very easy for us to work together.
us an orchid plant, they’re never thrown I think we’re different clients, but still,
out; they’re attached to a tree.” we’re definitely not clients who say, oh,
do whatever you want.”
In fact, the Hilfigers were imme-
diately drawn to the indoor-outdoor They all agreed that while the decor
architecture of their new home, which, needed a complete refashioning, the
modelled after many of Palm Beach’s bones of the house would suit them and
older estates, features an interior their family’s needs just fine. “We didn’t
courtyard. “The first thing we wanted to do much structurally,” says Dee. “There
do, though, was lighten and brighten,” were these unnecessary decorative
says Tommy. He explains that the columns in the bedroom that we took
previous owners had decorated in heavy out.” Of the refresh, Bullard simply says
and dark tones. “The wood was maho- that “the house has a wonderful soul. We
gany and cherry. All the windows had just had to take away the formality and
blinds on them, blocking the light. make it feel a bit younger, sexier, looser.”
There was a lot of art, patterned drapes,
patterned wallpaper, patterned furn- There was, however, one room that
iture. Paisleys, florals, Oriental carpets. got extra attention. “Dee did insist on
We did a clean sweep.” changing the kitchen because it had
heavy caramel-coloured countertops
The couple turned to AD100 des- and just this heavy marble,” Tommy
igner Martyn Lawrence Bullard to help confides. Good thing, too, because, as
open up and re-envision the space. “We it turns out, the kitchen is where the
built the look around the location,” family seems to gravitate most often.
notes Dee. “Something fresh and easy. Says Dee, who, as mother to three and
The palette: coral stone ivory. And it’s a stepmother to four, is often hosting a
beautiful Spanish-Mediterranean-style crowd of family members, “The kitchen
home, so Martyn brought in some is the soul of all our homes. We do a lot
of gathering here.”

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 AD ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST 97

DEYKAUSTAV
SITTING AGAINST A PATTACHITRA FROM ODISHA, DRESSED
IN HIS FATHER’S BENGALI DHOTI, A KASHMIRI PHERAN, AND
AN ANKLET—TO KAUSTAV DEY, ST YLE HAS ALWAYS BEEN
“EXCRUCIATINGLY PERSONAL”, A MEDIUM OF EXPRES SION AND
IDENTITY, WHETHER ON HIMSELF, OR IN HIS HOME IN BENGALURU.

WRITER DIVYA MISHRA PHOTOGRAPHER GOKULL RAO KADAM

KAUSTAV DEY IN HIS LIVING ROOM. HE’S WEARING A RAJESH PRATAP SINGH SHIRT; A HAND-EMBROIDERED PHERAN FROM SRINAGAR, KASHMIR; A SILK CRINKLED
BENGALI DHOTI (HIS FATHER’S); SILVER ANKLETS FROM VARANASI; AND A HANDWOVEN BANARASI SHAWL FROM ANJORA, VARANASI. THE VINTAGE SOFA WAS
ACQUIRED FROM JEW STREET IN KOCHI AND RESTORED; THE CARPET IS FROM MIRZAPUR. THE SIDEBOARD BEHIND THE SOFA IS A RESTORED ELECTRICIAN’S CABINET.
ON TOP OF IT IS A FRAMED PHOTOGRAPH TITLED TWO LITTLE GIRLS, BY PHOTOGRAPHER SUDARSHAN CHARI. NEXT TO IT IS A VINTAGE POSTER OF NORMAN
ROCKWELL’S BOY ON STILTS WITH A DOG FROM DE NEGEN STRAATJES, AMSTERDAM. IN FRONT OF THEM ARE A FRAMED POSTCARD FROM ORHAN PAMUK’S MUSEUM
OF INNOCENCE IN ISTANBUL; A WOODEN MASK FROM THE RUMTEK MONASTERY IN SIKKIM; A MINIATURE DOORWAY FROM THE FUSHIMI INARI SHRINE IN KYOTO,
JAPAN. THE CALLIGRAPHY ABOVE THE SIDEBOARD IS FROM THE OUTSKIRTS OF KYOTO. THE VINTAGE VEENA IS A FAMILY HEIRLOOM; THE TANJORE PAINTING, VENNAI
THAZHI KRISHNA, BY ARTIST VISHNUPRIYA RAVI IS FROM CHENNAI; THE LARGE PATTACHITRA ON THE WALL DEPICTING THE BIRTH OF GANESHA, IS FROM PURI, ODISHA.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 AD ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST 99

"“I like the aesthetic LEFT: THE HAND-PAINTED PORCELAIN PLATE IS
of the world gone by.” FROM ISTANBUL; KAUSTAV USED HIS MOTHER’S
—Kaustav Dey PATOLA SARI AS A RUNNER. BELOW: SEATED ON
A VINTAGE ARMCHAIR HE ACQUIRED FROM JEW
STREET IN KOCHI AND RESTORED, KAUSTAV IS
WEARING A DRESS SHIRT FROM GIORGIO ARMANI,
TROUSERS FROM HILFIGER COLLECTION, AND A
PEARL CHOKER FROM LAAD BAZAAR, HYDERABAD.
ON THE WALL BEHIND HIM ARE (CLOCKWISE
FROM TOP LEFT) A CEREMONIAL MASK FROM
BALI; A HAND-PAINTED PAPIER MÂCHÉ PLATE FROM
SRINAGAR; A PAINTING OF KEDAR GHAT, VARANASI,
BY A LOCAL ARTIST; AN OIL-ON-WOOD PAINTING
FROM COLOMBO; A VINTAGE POSTER OF ATATÜRK
FROM ISTANBUL’S GRAND BAZAAR; AND A VINTAGE
PAINTING FROM THE SEOUL FOLK FLEA MARKET IN
DONGDAEMUN-GU, SOUTH KOREA. THE KALIGHAT
PAINTING ON THE FLOOR BEHIND THE VEENA,
TITLED SITA’S WEDDING, WAS COMMISSIONED
FROM ARTIST MAMONI CHITRAKAR, KOLKATA. THE
NACHIARKOIL ORNAMENTAL TEMPLE LAMP ON THE
CABINET IS FROM KUMBAKONAM, TAMIL NADU.

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