HOME IN ON THE HAUTESTEPPER

WHETHER YOU LIKE IT BOLD AND BOISTEROUS OR STARK AND STUNNING, FASHION IT TURNS OUT IS A NATURAL MUSE FOR DESIGN INSPIRATION.

- RIDHI KALE

Who would have guessed that a momentous scene from one of the most iconic films would end up predicting the future? Of course, we are referencing the matinee moment when a cash-strapped Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind, takes her mother's forest green velvet curtains and patterns a dress out of it. Cut to the 21st century, and it isn't just innovation but intent that is driving couturiers homeward.

The desire to be the best dressed, whether in fashion or décor, outweighs season or reason. So, we turn to story tailors who weave whimsy and wonder into fabrics and furnishings. This is perhaps why fashion design has been courting interiors for quite some time now. In the West, design houses such as Armani, Versace, Kate Spade, Ralph Lauren, and Gucci have well-established verticals that feature prominent home lines for the well-heeled. In India the trend caught people's attention when Adrash Gill launched her silver furniture and accessories; Anupama Dayal launched Anupamaa Home, and when Abraham & Thakore dedicated time and space to present some of the most attractive and intricately designed home textiles. Following this early stint, high street brands such as Goodearth offered a creative platform to designers such as Manish Arora and Rohit Bal. Soon other brands started collaborative collections with fashion's shiniest stars for furnishings, tableware, wallpapers, and much more. The trend continues even today. Fabrics and wallpapers by Sabyasachi Mukherjee for Nilaya, carpets by Tarun Tahiliani for Obeetee and by Falguni Shane Peacock for Cocoon Fine Rugs, wallpapers by Payal Singhal for Marshalls India, tiles by Abraham & Thakore for FCML, accessories by Rocky S for Bent Chair, apartment interiors by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla for Lodha Luxury, are cases in point.