When Handmade Craft Enters a Mall

A new retail space in Delhi makes a bold bet: can design-led crafts become aspirational luxury and attract shoppers?

- Pooja Singh

Nelson Mandela Marg in Delhi is a go-to shopping destination in the city, drawing crowds from the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and even further afield like Maharashtra and Gujarat. Three interconnected malls cater to all kinds of shopping desires, demands and budgets. You can buy a Gucci belt or a Rahul Mishra gown at DLF Emporio, browse through the latest fashion and beauty trends at Zara and Sephora in Promenade, and purchase groceries at Ambience's Big Bazaar. Two weeks ago, the neighbourhood welcomed a fourth mall, Kunj, conceived by the Union ministry of textiles.

It's unlike the other three malls; it houses only small, homegrown designer brands and offers design-led traditional handicrafts and handlooms. Think Kot-pad saris stitched into trenchcoats; kala cotton shirts that are a cross between a kimono, bush and an Oxford shirt; a chess set with meenakari. Traditional crafts and handlooms are on sale in an environment far removed from the open, dusty haats and stuck-in-time state emporia. In the 15-plus stores in the four-storey mall, parts of which are still under construction, are craft items fashioned with a twist to make them luxurious objects of desire.

Last week, the Fashion Design Council of India, a body to promote the Indian fashion industry, presented a runway show at Kunj, with four designers showing chikankari, aari and handblock printing on multi-tiered Khadi coat dresses, Bhagalpuri bomber jackets and mulmul dresses.