India Art Fair (IAF) Design by architect Kunal Maniyar love benchThe 21-foot, 3,000-kilogram sculptural metal piece, with a bolster made of water hyacinth and banana pulp fiber, stood in awe of the guests. elsewhere, bloomA chandelier from designer Dhruv Aggarwal explored nostalgia and child-like curiosity through colorful Channapatna beads, with a color palette inspired by his visit to Kumbh. Festival. And architect-designer Ashish Shah copper (copper) traditional saw pot Reimagined as a light fixture.
Dhruv Aggarwal’s bloom chandelier | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Bigger, bolder and more elaborate than ever before, the design section, now in its third year, comprises 14 Indian studios and two international design galleries. The limited-edition, process-based works offered a snapshot of the diversity and pace of contemporary design. “What started as a focused introduction has evolved into a space that brings together craft-based practices, material intelligence and interdisciplinary thinking,” explains Jaya Ashokan, the fair’s director. “Each year, we have seen deeper engagement from audiences, institutions and practitioners – confirming that design is not peripheral to the art conversation but very much part of it. The boundaries between art, design, craft and architecture are becoming increasingly fluid.”
Jaya Ashokan, Director, India Art Fair. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Villa Swagatam and Æquo presented the work of French designer Marie Gastini. The booth featured embroidery, lighting and seating arrangements. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“Design complements the art ecosystem. It connects craft, culture, functionality and creativity in ways that relate to the broader cultural dialogue.”Kunal ManiyarPrincipal Architect, Kunal Maniyar and Associates
Overlap between art and design
Design is at a turning point in India today. Apart from having a distinct business category at the art fair, in 2026 a delegation from Salone del Mobile, the world’s leading Milanese design fair, visited the country during IAF, and events like India Design ID were organized soon after. The expansion of infrastructure – with dedicated exhibitions, collectible design galleries, residencies and a growing base of informed collectors – underpins this structural shift.
And designers are responding: Vikram Goyal’s more accessible label, Viya, opened a store in Mumbai last week, underscoring growing confidence in the domestic market. At IAF Design, several participants including Galerie Maria Wettergren (France), Kunal Maniyar (Mumbai), Kohlika Kohli Karkhana (New Delhi), and Mori Design (Gujarat) were presenting for the first time.
Mori Design | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“The art fair has evolved from a purely art-centric platform to one that acknowledges the strong overlap between art and design, in line with the way the world is thinking today,” says Kohlika Kohli, CEO of Multidisciplinary Design Atelier. “As audiences become more globally exposed and culturally informed, art is no longer confined to walls; it shapes furniture, objects, and entire environments.”
modern narrative
Mumbai-based architect-designer Rushad Shroff believes design needs its own space and the growing number of platforms is good news. “I see India’s luxury landscape moving away from direct branding and mass production towards handmade and exclusive pieces,” says the founder of boutique firm Rushad Shroff, whose establishment in the Indian Air Force made use of stone, metal and fine textiles, including his first invention of upholstered furniture.
Rushad Shroff’s booth Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Their sofas, chairs and footstools were draped in rich cashmere. He added, “The luxury connoisseur today is more discerning, attracted to modern narratives that acknowledge history and heritage, and this shift, to me, reflects a deeper cultural perception of authenticity, craftsmanship and personal expression within the realm of luxury.”
Goyal’s measure of life There were brass objects that reinterpreted traditional techniques such as repoussé and inlay, taking inspiration from cosmology, nature and Indian legends. Panchatantra. “The intention was to create communal peace, to remind that harmony is not the absence of tension, but the balance of many voices within a shared space,” he explains.
Heaven’s Goodwill Panel | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
wanna; Gaza. Elephant; Tiger. Tiger; And Kurma. Tortoise Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Studios like Nitush-Arosh pushed industrial materials in new directions, using stainless steel to shape sculptural forms. Using hydroforming and pressure techniques, they compressed metal into liquid forms. “We have created works where the process remains visible, allowing each piece to exist not just as furniture, but as an object with its own presence and identity,” explains Nitush Mahipal, one half of the New Delhi-based design duo.
textile and tactile
Craft traditions, especially textile practices, underpinned many of the booths. Chanakya School of Craft showcased embroidery, weaving and lace making by women’s labour. Mori Design, a Gandhinagar-based textile studio – working with 200 women artisans across India, including Rabari embroiderers from Kutch, Sujani artisans from Bihar and Kantha artisans from Bengal – showcased deep SpaceAn immersive installation created from hand-embroidered indigo panels inspired by the night sky.
Close-up of embroidery from Chanakya School of Craft. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Chanakya School of Craft Booth | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Mori Design | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Aspura, a gallery founded by Jaipur Rugs for collectible carpets, displays a limited edition of the Kamla House carpet, an off-white checked shag pile carpet, crafted in bamboo silk, designed by the late Pritzker Prize-winning architect BV Doshi. The gallery also presented two antique desks designed by Doshi, complemented by a photograph of the carpet by photographer Dayanita Singh.
Kamla House Carpet in Asapura | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
culturally literate customers
The practice of New York-based multidisciplinary artist Ghiora Aharoni treats objects as vessels of memory. His presented works focus on Zamrud, an emerald relic in brass, as well as wall sculptures in Hindu, his invented visual language (which combines Hindi and Urdu). In all mediums, he blurred the categories: art and design, object and text. The relic was both a sacred vessel and a household object; The script-like wall pieces served as visual poetry. He says the visitors were extremely curious and knowledgeable and the reception of his work was “extraordinary”.
At Ghiora Aharoni’s booth. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Elsewhere, product designer Gunjan Gupta’s research-driven practice questions India’s relationship with the chair – using vases, baskets and stools in innovative ways. For example, the basket throne captured the iconic image Tokris (Baskets) placed on a chair by street vendors across India. “As collectors become more culturally literate, they are looking for depth rather than decoration,” she says. “The future of collectible design will reward process, collaboration, and integrity of ideas that will hold up over time.”
Basket Throne (left)
space for collectibles
But is there really a place for design at an art fair? There are some who wonder. As culture writer Gautami Reddy recently wrote in an article for a digital platform Ocula“Sharing the same platform of art and design was a recurring topic of conversation [at the art fair] And an obvious source of discomfort. Someone said, ‘This is probably a money-related decision.’
But others are keeping an open mind. “In recent years, art fairs have begun to make space for art historical content, often through booths organized by museums and institutions. Now that design has found a foothold in these fairs as well, it will be interesting to see whether its own history will begin to be presented in a similar manner,” says gallerist Mortimer Chatterjee of Chatterjee & Lal.
In a world of increasing interconnectedness, can’t art and design sit together? After all, design booths are often a gateway for first-time buyers to access works, and a gateway into the larger (and often more expensive) world of art.
The author is a Mumbai-based journalist and author.