Celebrating Indianness

By Marina Correa

Photography: Courtesy the architect

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Distinguishing an exceptional retail experience from a milieu of custom-designed ones, Tashya, a bridal boutique in Chandigarh stands out for its traditional Indian imagery in more ways than one…

Design firm Charged Voids, headed by Ar. Aman Aggarwal has conceptualized and designed this 4000 sq. ft. boutique that caters to traditional Indian bridal wear – clothes and accessories.

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The design is pure elegance in that it integrates into its interior architecture four simple motifs inspired from Indian culture - seamless swirls of geometric ornamental in art decor style; floral motif in retro style; fish-scale motif; and Islamic floral motif - that are ingeniously replicated in varied scales and dimensions throughout the store creating jaali worked paneling, on the ceiling, as display backdrops, in storage areas and integrated into the custom-designed furniture.

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The material palette is also limited and endemic to Indian culture: copper, brass and mild steel, thereby living up to the ‘native’ meaning of the name Tashya. Significantly, use of traditional Indian metal craftwork is reflected in the main door of the store, where copper sheets have been finished in takai (patterns and textures engraved on a metal sheet) and gulmekh  (hand-moulded nails used to cover the corner joints of metal plates).

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In terms of space planning, high-end collections and jewellery are screened off into slightly private zones, while regular garments are placed near circulation areas. Interestingly, centrally located cut-outs on the ground floor are reflected on the double -height mirrored walls, in turn establishing a visual connection between both the floors.

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The one aspect that truly stands out is the ingenuity with which the designer has transformed simple motif application to the larger picture by integrating them as both, design and décor elements without being in-the-face; fittingly the store has won an award in the retail category at the World Festival of Interiors 2013.