The new initiative pairs emerging talents with some of India’s most prestigious ateliers, resulting in intricately crafted designs.

From the pearliest palace interiors to the most epic couture creations, a new residency programme presents an opportunity to explore the uppermost echelons of India’s extraordinary artisanal capability and design talent. Conceived by interior designer Shalini Misra, the Shakti Design Residency aims to offer a glimpse of what can be possible, foster new collaborations, and shatter preconceptions all at the same time.

Raised in India, and now based between Delhi, New York and London, Misra has spent nearly three decades seeking out talented artisans around the world for her interior design projects, and her experience of India’s exceptional craftsmanship and collectible design means she has long been aware of the potential of opening this market up to a wider audience. ‘The timing feels particularly important now as we witness a global shift towards valuing craftsmanship and innovation,’ she says.

Last spring, Misra and her team put out an open call for applications, and from some tough competition, five emerging designers from around the world were selected, then flown to India, where they were each partnered with one of five respected ateliers: Tarun Tahiliani, Klove Studio, Vikram Goyal, Jaipur Rugs, and the Chanakya School of Craft. For four weeks, under the guidance of their mentors, the designers were immersed in their respective heritage crafts and India’s history and culture, simultaneously tasked with creating a new collection. The results, showing at Alcova during Milan Design Week, will be produced in limited-edition runs, available to buy on Misra’s retail platform Curio Space, and Basic Space, the LA-based digital marketplace founded by Design Miami chairman and Shakti panellist Jesse Lee.

The residency has been guided by an advisory panel comprising a cohort of established cultural voices, including Yves Béhar, Marcin Rusak, Nilufar Gallery founder Nina Yashar, Morphogenesis founder Sonali Rastogi, Benjamin Paulin, ECAL director Alexis Georgacopoulos and The Future Perfect founder David Alhadeff. Two weeks into the residency, which took place in Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai, Wallpaper* joined Misra, Rusak, Georgacopoulos and Alhadeff to check in on the designers’ progress, which included visiting their mentors’ ateliers and being treated to behind-the-scenes tours of workshops, homes, palaces and galleries as Misra’s network stepped up to support the initiative.

Duyi Han, from China, holds a B Arch from Cornell University. In 2023, he was a Créateurs Design Awards winner, and this year he designed the set for the Curated section at the Collectible Design Fair in Brussels. For Shakti, Han was paired with Tarun Tahiliani, one of India’s leading couturiers, renowned for his pioneering take on traditional Indian dress and intricate, innovative use of rich embroidery work and textiles. Han’s residency experience was a whirlwind immersion in Indian culture and craftsmanship from the off. His resulting collection includes a chandelier, table lamp and chair/bench, each exploring the concept of devotion and storytelling in India’s wedding traditions. The chandelier draws from circular elements in India’s visual culture while evoking the vibrant emotional energy reminiscent of religious objects. The lamp references the cutting pattern of the choli (blouse) while the chair/bench is inspired by the sherwani (groom’s coat). Echoing the visual style of Mughal painting, it depicts an embroiderer at work.

New York-based, Slovak-born industrial designer Kickie Chudikova has had an impressive career trajectory, with a growing roster of awards to her name for both her own collections of furniture and lighting and commercial design projects. She was matched with Klove Studio, renowned for its striking, highly-sought-after handblown chandeliers and glassware. Drawing inspiration from the ubiquitous arches in Indian architecture, her collection comprises five sculptural furniture and lighting pieces, each capturing a delicate but striking balance of graphical elements and architectural perspective. Chudikova chose a symbolic colour gradient for each piece, evoking a deeper connection to cultural, spiritual and natural elements.

‘I was welcomed with a can-do attitude, which is very rare, and the speed at which things were accomplished also added to the overall positive experience. We should pay more attention to the vibrant contemporary culture bubbling up in India. I left feeling deeply inspired’ Kickie Chudikova

Since graduating with an advanced masters degree in design for luxury and craftsmanship from ECAL, Luca Gruber has collaborated with the likes of Carl Auböck V, Lobmeyr, Ini Archibong and Bodo Sperlein. For Shakti, the German-born designer was placed with Vikram Goyal, whose work using extremely skilled metalwork and precious stone inlays translates India’s rich legacy of craft excellence into modern collectible designs that resonate globally. Taking a cue from Goyal’s own approach, as well as the spiritual philosophy of the seven chakras, Gruber’s set of three tables are designed as a reflection of the body’s energetic flow. Fusing material and meaning, the set features seven table tops, each corresponding to a chakra, with its semi-precious stone inlay chosen to embody the essence of each energy centre – grounding reds for muladhara, luminous violets for sahasrara, and so on. Undulating brass legs mimic the nadis, the vital energy channels that link the chakras.

Interdisciplinary textile designer Helena Bajaj Larsen is based between France, India and Dubai, and her practice spans art and interiors, with a strong focus on collaboration with craft communities across the global south. A graduate of New York’s Parsons School of Design and Milan’s SDA Bocconi School of Management, Larsen is of Indian and Norwegian heritage and is the only resident with prior experience of making in India. For Shakti, she was paired with Jaipur Rugs, whose hand-knotting legacy allowed her to further explore the abstract hand-painted silk work that has become her personal signature. Her series of rugs, anchored in a continuation of her research relating to maps, veins and roots, were developed through hand drawing, initially building the linework that would eventually turn into the skeleton used for the CAD. Extensive dye and embroidery tests and experimentation followed, before high-resolution images of Larsen’s silk works were fed into a computer to break down colours by pixel for material matching. The result is an amalgamation of the technical pixel-like nature of rug image building and the free-flowing nature of abstract imagery.

‘India opened my eyes to the beauty of intricate details, vibrant colours and layered textures that bring depth and richness to design. Working with Vikram challenged me to let go of my need for precision and embrace a more hands-on approach. This shift has been liberating’ Luca Gruber

Japanese designer Aya Kawabata specialises in textiles and graphic works that reimagine traditional patterns, amulets and cultural stories. Having spent time living in New York and Europe, her creative philosophy is informed by an involvement in Japanese culture that is influenced by layered global experiences. For Shakti, she partnered with the Chanakya School of Craft, a non-profit foundation dedicated to craft, culture and creating new autonomy for women. It teaches more than 300 hand embroidery techniques through a holistic curriculum. The collaboration between Chanakya and Kawabata reimagines Indian cultural symbolism in an embroidered wall hanging (unfinished as we went to press) that draws from the designer’s heritage and expansive horizons. Her piece channels the energy of the sunrise, evoking purification, creativity and boundless possibility.

The name Shakti comes from a Sanskrit word meaning strength, energy or power. The exhibition in Milan will certainly prove to be a highlight, but the real legacy of the design residency lies in the strength of the new connections made, the energy of the perspectives shifted, and the power of the knowledge exchanged. For those who experienced it firsthand, it is clear that something bigger than a residency has been set in motion.