Saying it with charcoal!

By Savitha Hira

Photography: Jesal Shah; courtesy KSDS

  

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Reinventing tried-and-tested design tenets, Kavan Shah Design Studio designs the new Garden Vareli flagship that proposes to re-establish the brand as a prêt contender in the market!

Focussing on the product as the voice of the brand, the 2000 sq. ft. Mumbai store in enveloped in a shroud of grey and black tones that propose to offset the colourful garments, giving them their rightful place in the sun.

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A combination of rugged and chic, cement peripheral walls painted in charcoal and IPS-finished free-standing internal walls, interspersed with polished concrete structural columns are complemented by ash wood flooring - providing a neutral shell that is anointed with thin geometric metal silhouettes and rails - in random unpredictable patterns - to hang the garments. Glossy black mannequins occupy pride of place as a bunch of different-sized boxes are variously configured as displays for accessories and textiles; or as steps to clamber up to reach the clothes above. They can be moved around the floor to create different layouts, while a taller, fixed grey structure acts as the counter. 

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Carefully zeroing in on choosing a material that weathers, KSDS uses Burma Teak wood inside and outside, subtly lending the aesthetic a timeless appeal.  Keeping things “simple, clean, bright and airy”, the roomy interiors ably assisted by strategically placed floor-to-ceiling mirror walls encourage the visitor to move around, explore and experience the space.

 

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“All projects and experiments are set with the intention to pervade and redefine each individual's daily routine and common perception,” says principal designer and architect Kavan Shah talking about his general principles of design.  “The idea of a narrative, he informs, starts on an intuitive level, which soon transforms and adapts as a design tool, an exploration and tactic”. 

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With the creation of this contemporary aesthetic, the architect reiterates one of the greatest challenges for a spatial designer today; the creation of a meaningful space for a gratifying user experience.