Kanpur's Design Destination 

A medley of pret-a-porter and artefacts find pride of place in interior designer and fashion enthusiast Pooja Gupta’s new atelier.
Pooja Gupta's new store in Kanpur, Amiraah
Pooja Gupta's new store in Kanpur, Amiraah

As a first lesson, Pooja Gupta of I-Design Studios learnt to never cut corners. It’s something that’s destroyed many careers and she wasn’t going to let that happen to hers. The only determiner of success for her was going to be a steadfast commitment to her work coupled with an obsessively driven pursuance of originality. As she launches her new multi-designer store called Amiraah, in Kanpur, she chats with us about the need to be multifaceted, innovative and consistent. 

Making authenticity her greatest influencer, Gupta has never felt the need to circumvent aesthetic protocol by compromising on probity. Her accomplishments, she says, are based on the resilience to stay true to her heart notwithstanding the need to generate revenues for a successful business. 

Amiraah is a product of her principles. It’s a 3,000 sq ft haven for names such as Am Pm, Namrata Joshipura, Anushree Reddy, Kavita Bhartiya, Joy Mitra and others. It is unlike other ateliers shining bright with dazzling garments hung on polished hanger rods, and opulent accessories stacked away behind securely-knobbed glass encasings. It is, on the other hand, a design museum drenched in imaginativeness. The jewellery display montage features hand-printing blocks.

The entrance door has been restored and showcases vignettes of Shreenathji. The space is peppered with mid-century modern furniture pieces and individualistic accents such as a retro-industrial mirror. This is composed of wooden shoe moulds and vintage brass door knobs with classical details on their bows. Even the dressing room has Rococo-inspired crystal chandeliers and pulsing red walls.

The store is divided into three sections: Indian wear, Indo-western and a bridal section. The Indian wear collection is a mix of everyday clothing and occasion wear in plenty of fabrics, embroideries and motifs. There are jamdanis, brocades, and cotton in traditional hand embroideries. The Indo-western segment is targeted towards a younger consumer base. Here, contemporary sensibilities come together with sustainable labels such as Doodlage. The third section is bridal wear, which, as the name suggests, has everything you need for a wedding. Besides these three broad categories, there are several designer labels for footwear, jewellery, bags and interiors too. 

Irrespective of gathering recognition as an interior designer, Gupta’s heart always longed for all things fashion. Therefore, bringing the two under one roof was a natural move for her. Also, a place like Kanpur, where people are greatly receptive towards designers and brands, the decision was further validated. 

But before all this took shape, there were a few bumps that Gupta had to troubleshoot, one being the visualisation, the first step of creation. “I wanted to assemble a luscious narrative in a massive space with the grandeur and visual heft that comes with a wide-ranging assortment of home décor, haute couture, prêt-a-porter, dining accessories, wall décor, artefacts, handicrafts, contemporary art and sculpture, and garden accessories, yet make it all look light,” she says. 

So, step one was to decide on the anatomy of the space and sort out the structuring and sectioning. For this, she constructed little pockets of thematic displays, that by the virtue of distinct concepts, created easy compartmentalisation. Once that was achieved, it was easy to place various elements within it. 

The curation of the store is largely Indian in appeal with a beautiful jhoola and Ganpati idol stationed at the entrance. “There are chandeliers from Ferozabad. One of my favourite pieces is a chandelier that we crafted at the studio with individual lights. We wove the lights with charpoy weaving techniques by using jute fibre to create a beautiful chandelier. There are Venetian mirrors, the making of which is a dying art. The POP and cane detailing are done by local artisans too,” she says. Assimilating these various strands of ingenuity and aptness, Gupta’s design mecca has now opened up for discerning pilgrims. 

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com