Design Craft’s Mumbai store gives artisan designers from Kutch and Bagalkot a lasting retail address, turning craft, design, and entrepreneurship into a public experience.
A New Craft Address
The Mumbai outpost was the first retail space for Design Craft outside Kutch, even though the organisation had already established a store at Pragmahal Atelier in Bhuj in September 2024. For the team, the launch was not just about expanding geography; it was about creating visibility and stability for artisan labels that often struggle to find space in conventional fashion retail. The store also reinforced SKV’s long-term belief that craft deserves recognition at the level of design, business, and authorship.
The setting itself helped shape the story. With curved wooden stairways, stained glass light, and Victorian tiled floors, the space felt more like a restored heritage office than a typical craft shop. That atmosphere suited the curatorial approach: calm, intimate, and rooted in tactile detail rather than flashy display. It made the opening feel less like a commercial rollout and more like a considered public introduction to artisan-led fashion.
Craft As Design
At the heart of the project is Somaiya Kala Vidya’s training model, which treats artisans as designers in training rather than anonymous producers. The programme teaches colour theory, rhythm, harmony, collection building, branding, styling, and market orientation before moving toward retail readiness. Designers also spend time observing how craft is displayed and experienced in spaces such as House of MG, Aadyam Handwoven, and Forest of Chintz, which helps them understand the language of contemporary retail.
That process showed clearly in the opening edit. The store featured bandhanis, Ajrakhs, soof embroidery, Mashru, Bhujodi weaving, and Kala cotton, but the presentation leaned toward modern luxury rather than museum-style preservation. Pieces such as a painterly Ajrakh silk sari paired with a Peter Pan-collar blouse, or a quilted Mashru sari with a burgundy pallu, showed how the artisans were pushing traditional craft into new fashion territory. The collection demonstrated that heritage techniques can still feel fresh when designers are allowed creative control.
Highlight Pieces
Several standout works defined the opening. Muskan Khatri, one of Design Craft’s younger designers, presented a tiered bandhani silk dress that had first appeared at Lakmē Fashion Week the previous year. Pachan Vankar showcased a featherweight Bhujodi handwoven sari inspired by Lohri and made from bamboo and fine cotton. Zaid Khatri’s Ajrakh denim suit, complete with matching accessories, and Mubassirah Khatri’s anatomically inspired pieces under Elysians Ajrakh added further range to the offering.
These examples mattered because they showed how artisan design can move across categories without losing identity. The range extended from clothing to bags, totes, and fabrics by the metre, making the store relevant to both occasional buyers and serious fashion consumers. In other words, Design Craft did not build a nostalgia-driven store; it built a living retail language.
Beyond The Launch
The event also pointed toward a broader future for the brand. Design Craft plans to keep the assortment fluid, with periodic drops rather than rigid seasonal collections. Future offerings will respond to practical needs such as summer lightness or winter-appropriate weaves, instead of trend-led colour stories. This gives the label flexibility while preserving the artisan’s own pace of making.
The store will also evolve into an educational space through workshops on tie-dye, block printing, and other regional techniques. That matters because it shifts the experience from simple shopping to learning and exchange. Amrita Somaiya’s vision was clear: consumers today want to know how something is made, who made it, and why it matters. The Mumbai store answered that demand by turning craft into a visible, engaged, and deeply human experience
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