Royal Retail

Taking Rajasthan as a cardinal source of inspiration, architect Percy Kutar of 4.4 Design creates a refashioned version of a haveli for fashion designer Anita Dongre’s latest store in New Delhi.

- Deepa Nair

Making a statement... that’s what celebrated fashion designer Anita Dongre has continuously been doing since 1995 when she launched House of Anita Dongre Limited with siblings Meena Sehra and Mukesh Sawlani. From a humble beginning of a 300 sq ft store in Mumbai’s Crossroads mall (now, Sobo Central mall) to more than 250 exclusive outlets, and a presence in over 750 multi-brand large format stores in 100 cities, the brand has grown from strength to strength — embracing change, setting trends and redefining fashion. The spaces where Anita displays her work also bear a remarkable design language befitting her gorgeous creations. For this mammoth task, she has always trusted architect Percy Kutar of Mumbai-based 4.4 Design to weave his magic. And therefore, when she decided to open her largest flagship store in the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) zone of Qutub Minar, New Delhi, Percy was once again the man for the job. “Percy and I go way back — he has been pivotal in designing all Anita Dongre flagship stores. His respect for art and passion for forging spatial patterns comes forth in his work, which I immensely admire. He approaches design chiefly through the structure, geometry and light, and continually improvises to find a balance between the three,” says Anita.