‘The Indian market has come of age’: Inside Nilaya Anthology, India’s new design destination

India’s newest design landmark, Nilaya Anthology, has opened in Mumbai with a grand unveiling that placed it firmly on the global design map. Developed by Indian company Asian Paints, the showroom introduces a new concept: a global luxury design destination with an Indian perspective. More than just a retail space, it signals a shift – one where Indian design, craft, and heritage are positioned at the centre of the global conversation.

Set within a vast 100,000 sq ft space designed by local architect Rooshad Shroff, Nilaya Anthology transforms a former mill in Mumbai’s tightly packed industrial district into an immersive design experience. The showroom brings together international and Indian design, juxtaposing global brands with local craft and historical artifacts. In one corner, an antique cast-bronze Shiva is displayed alongside elephant grass baskets from Ghana, Japanese textiles, and Rietveld's ‘Utrecht’ armchair – creating an interplay of cultures and eras.

At the helm of this ambitious vision is interior designer Pavitra Rajaram, creative director of Nilaya Anthology and a longtime advocate for India’s craft heritage. Her approach ensures the space remains cohesive rather than chaotic, inviting visitors to explore at their own pace. ‘We felt very strongly that the store shouldn't have a prescriptive, linear journey, and that actually you should discover it, like a world,’ she explains.

The journey begins in a double-height orangery, a lush green space that leads into a central open gallery. Surrounding it, intimate rooms house an array of glassware, ceramics, candles, and textiles sourced from across the world. A sweeping ramp offers a dramatic perspective of the gallery below, leading visitors upstairs to dedicated spaces for contract clients, where lighting, bathrooms, and surface materials are showcased.

At the rear of the showroom, one of India’s leading fashion designers, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, debuts his Art Foundation with an exhibition featuring artist-in-residence Atish Mukherjee, whose work reinterprets the Bengal School of Art. A staircase leads to a lavish space dedicated to Sabyasachi’s wallpapers and drapes, designed exclusively for Asian Paints – a maximalist’s fever dream.

A few years ago, a commitment to such an expansive bricks-and-mortar retail concept would have been unthinkable. But Nilaya Anthology’s founders believe customers are craving physical experiences after years of digital transactions following the global pandemic. ‘People were really consuming and transacting without experience,’ Rajaram reflects. ‘What can we do to bring back the sense of experience, the sense of wonder that should surround something like this?’

That sense of wonder is evident throughout. Nina Yashar's Milanese Nilufar gallery is making its Indian debut here where it occupies a prime position on the ground floor alongside Indian design pioneer Vikram Goyal. Here, his eponymous studio, renowned for its repoussé metalwork (and featured by The Future Perfect at Design Miami 2024), has conjured a mesmerising wall-mounted installation called ‘Silken Passage’, that pays homage to the Silk Road.

Elsewhere in the store, pieces from his New Dehli-based homeware brand Viya Home include furniture, lighting, decor and textiles. ‘This is the biggest showcase of our work outside our own studio, and it's our Mumbai debut,’ Goyal tells Wallpaper*. ‘I'm thrilled to be part of this great concept, because I've not seen such an international design destination anywhere else actually.’ Italian brand Paola Lenti has transformed the outdoor terrace, while the first floor reads as a roll call of European design brands.

At the opening, much of the conversation focused on India’s growing influence in the global design industry. ‘The Indian customer is always an afterthought, and that's something we really, really want to change,’ Rajaram states. Even 2 per cent of India’s 1.4 billion-strong market, she points out, is a ‘humongous’ number. ‘The fact is that Indians have been buying all across the world for centuries, and they continue to do so. What we want to say is, the Indian market has come of age.’

The showroom’s founders hope to redefine how international brands engage with India – not just as a consumer market, but as an integral part of the design industry. ‘One of the objectives here was to create a space where international brands can appropriate their own design language, rather than relying on aggregators or intermediaries,’ says Amit Syngle, CEO and MD at Asian Paints. ‘There has always been a gap between how global luxury brands present themselves and how they actually integrate into the Indian market. We wanted to change that.’

But as Sabyasachi Mukherjee notes, India’s ascent in the design world also requires a shift in self-perception from within, moving away from a mindset shaped by colonial history. ‘We need to set our own standards for ourselves. And when you set your own standards, the world will come to you,’ he says. ‘Luxury can never be created from a point of subjugation. It has to be created from a point of confidence.’

Although the offering is intentionally global, alongside established Indian names such as Sabyasachi and Vikram Goyal, there are plenty of emerging Indian voices to be found as well. These include Srila Mookerjee, whose jewel-like glassware is mouth-blown in Kolkata, West Bengal; ceramicist Tejashree Sagvekar, who forages clay from the shores of Mumbai for her textural ceramics; and Women Weave from Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh, which produces handwoven textiles made from repurposed silk. Meanwhile, the Nilaya Anthology's in-house design team has reimagined iconic chairs in wicker.

Beyond being a showcase, Nilaya Anthology is designed as a cultural hub, with curated talks, exhibitions, and interactive programming. The Orangery – a rare green oasis in Mumbai’s dense urban landscape – will host events, while a forthcoming restaurant will provide a setting for intimate, design-led gatherings, musical evenings, and themed dinners.

Another standout feature is the material library, an evolving archive of over 1,800 finishes, textures, and sustainable materials. Offering designers a tactile resource, it reinforces the showroom’s belief that design is best experienced, not just consumed. ‘Design is to be savoured and not devoured,’ Rajaram concludes. ‘Design is a conversation. It's a discovery. It's a continuum.’

nilayanthology.com

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