Speakers 2022
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Aamir Sharma
Director, Aamir and Hameeda Interior Designers and Contractors (AANDH)
Partner and co-founder of Aamir and Hameeda Interior Designers (AANDH), Aamir Sharma is an award-winning interior designer from Hyderabad. He graduate...Read Mored from Module Design Institute and later started his own practice alongside his wife Hameeda in the year 2000. Having completed and delivered over 240 projects, Aamir's working style is unconventional, eclectic and experimental. Apart from being known for his design sensibilities, he also possesses a strong passion for sports cars and sneakers. His clientele includes the crème de la crème of South India including eminent personalities like Akkineni Nagarjuna, Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun and others. Apart from luxurious residences and restaurants, he has conceptualized lavish showrooms for luxury brands such as Rolls Royce, BMW, Mini Cooper, to name a few.
Abin Chaudhuri
Founder & Principal, Abin Design Studio
Abin Design Studio(ADS ) is an international and national award winning architectural design studio, based in Kolkata since 2005 under the leader...Read Moreship of Abin Chaudhuri. Since its inception, Abin Design Studio is exploring the ‘unknown’ journey, experimentation with materials and technology, and the engaging art and culture, aiming to provide a ‘soul in the shell’. The studio engages design in the urban fabric and peri-urban edge, as a catalyst for deliberate change. Their work focuses on the idea of holistic design, not just limiting to ideas, but also physical manifestation through multi-disciplinary collaboration. ADS explorations intend to push the boundaries of thought, prevalent socio-cultural landscape and spatial construct, challenging the role of architecture in the society, by being unafraid of unfamiliar explorations. The studio is a multidisciplinary practice with a diverse portfolio of projects ranging from large scale public buildings , including corporate houses to niche villa projects, each carrying our hallmark of creativity, innovation and experimentation.
Ahsan Ansari
Designer, CLaY Architecture and Interiors
Having grown up with a fascination for beautiful spaces, Ahsan Ansari graduated from the Raheja College of Architecture, Mumbai in 1994. He set up his...Read More independent practice 23 years ago and his array of work ranges from urban residences, and weekend retreats to retail spaces and offices. The essence of his work is based on a set of intangibles: intuition, emotion, shared memories & experience. Ahsan who is also the founder of Clay Architecture and Interiors as multiple celebrity homes to his credit including Nikhil Advani’s weekend home at Alibaug, Arti & Shanta’s house at Kashid, Mukesh Talreja’s house at Alta Mount road, Harish Shah’s house at Bandra, Good Earth store at Raghuvanshi Mills and many others. His design philosophy could be described as - India meets Geoffrey Bawa. He takes inspiration from a time when Geoffrey Bawa once said, “When one delights as much as I do in planning a building & having it built, I find it impossible to describe the exact steps in an analytical or dogmatic way. I have a very strong conviction that it is impossible to explain architecture in words; I have always enjoyed seeing buildings but seldom enjoyed reading about them. Architecture cannot be totally explained but must be experienced.”
Amit Syngle
Managing Director & CEO, Asian Paints Ltd
Managing Director & CEO of Asian Paints Ltd. Amit Syngle is the man behind India’s only research-based Colour trend prediction system. He has be...Read Moreen responsible for propelling the brand into a league of its own and has transformed Asian Paints from a Paint company to an inspirational Home Décor company. Over the last decade he has spearheaded several new business initiatives, including designer collaborations and special showcases.
Annkur Khosla
Founder, Annkur Khosla Design Studio
Blending contemporary design sensibility with elements of heritage and cultural past, designer Annkur Khosla straddles two worlds while aiming for bal...Read Moreance in her creations. Pushing the boundaries of creativity, the co-founder of Annkur Khosla Design Studio states that her firm’s work stems from functionality, with a focus on the creation of meaningful spaces. A graduate of Indian Aesthetics at Jnanapravaha and the New York School of Interior Design, Annkur has undertaken a host of interior and architectural projects in India and abroad. Working to design functional, harmonious spaces with intent and purpose, Annkur’s portfolio includes several wellness and hospitality spaces as well.
Aparajita Jain
Co-Director, Nature Morte
Aparajita Jain is the founder of Terrain.art which was launched in 2021 and is the co-director of Nature Morte since 2012. Under her leadership, Natur...Read Moree Morte recently won Solo Exhibition of the Year for the co-curated retrospective, "Transfigurations", featuring the work of Mrinalini Mukherjee together with another gallery and last year the gallery produced the world’s first AI art show, which received tremendous appreciation for the art fraternity. Established to connect South Asia's curators, museum administrators, artists and art educators with Harvard faculty, Aparajita along with her husband, Gaurav Jain, was a founding/council member of Harvard University's South Asia Arts Council, representing Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. She is also a patron of India's very first biennale, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. Aparajita was recently awarded Entrepreneur of the Year by FICCI FLO for her contribution to art and is currently on the advisory board of ICCR and has recently been inducted onto the board of an International Sculpture Foundation. In 2010, Aparajita Jain founded The Saat Saath Arts Foundation, envisioning it as a not-for-profit initiative meant to foster a platform for creative dialogue between Indian artists and the international art world. The foundation was first set up as a fund-raising initiative to save the tigers of Ranthambore. "Art Tiger" encouraged artists to paint life-size tigers to create awareness about the endangered plight of the animal in India.
Asha Sairam
Design principal, Studio Lotus
Asha Sairam is a Principal at Studio Lotus, a New Delhi-based multidisciplinary design practice. Spanning the domains of Masterplanning, Architecture ...Read More& Interior Design, the work of the award-winning practice is grounded on the principles of Conscious Design—an approach that celebrates local resources, cultural influences, an inclusive process, and keen attention to detail. Presently, Asha leads the Hospitality Design vertical for the practice; she is a skilled orator and has been invited to speak at several international events and expert panels. Presently, Asha leads the Hospitality Design vertical for the practice. A 40 Under 40 honoree at the Perspective Global Design Awards 2019, she is an active member of the Indian design fraternity, regularly participating in panel discussions and conferences, representing the practice on a global stage.
Beau Avedissian
Founding Director, HyperArchitects
Beau Avedissian is the co-founder of Hyperarchitects - international architecture and design studio - and TUTU Home - designer homewares. Beau has a M...Read Moreasters of Architecture from University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. He achieved first place in the Cosentino Architectural competition in 2017, won the FACS prize in 2018, and The Best of Design Awards 2019 in the Unbuilt Interiors Category by Architect's Newspaper. Beau has written articles for KooZA/rch and Designboom, uncovering new ways to think, design and build. He has worked on multiple projects from small scale dwellings to large scale healthcare developments, utilising the latest technologies, with a focus on the human and their wellbeing in architecture. He has an avid passion for health and wellness in design and architecture, calling it ‘Healthitecture’ – architecture that enhances and improves our wellbeing.
Bethan Laura Wood
Designer, Bethan Laura Wood
Bethan Laura Wood is a UK-based multidisciplinary designer whose work is characterised by material investigation, artisan collaboration and a passion ...Read Morefor colour and detail. Residencies and location-based projects have become an important factor in her design process, often working in response to her location, in collaboration with local manufacturers, or reflecting back into her work the visual and material culture particular to that area. Bethan is fascinated by the connections we make with the everyday objects that surround us and, as a collector herself, likes to explore what drives people to hold onto one particular object while discarding another. She obtained a MA in Design Products at the Royal College of Art and since 2011 she has worked with the prestigious Nilufar Gallery to showcase her self-directed, limited edition and one-off works. Bethan has been commissioned collaborations by various iconic international brands including, Perrier–Jouët, Rosenthal, Abet Laminati, Moroso, Valextra, Kvadrat, Design Miami, Tory Burch, Hermes, Dior and many others. Her work has been exhibited in institutions like Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Swiss Institute New York; Daelim Museum, Seoul; Museum of Contemporary Art, MOT, Tokyo; ICA London and the Design Museum London. Bethan also has works included in the permanent collections of Wellcome Collection, London (Epidemic Jukebox in partnership with Kin design); V&A, London (Toothpaste bag for Valextra); Dresden State Art Collections, Germany (Friends bed); Abet Laminate Museum, Italy (Playtime table); and Mudac, Switzerland (Totem No.5) and most recently The Art Institute of Chicago (Stain) and SFMOMA (Criss Cross Kite).
Bruno Chenesseau
Design Director, Kolher India and Europe
Bruno Chenesseau started his career with designing outdoor furniture for the Allibert company then moved to work with agencies in Paris as an interior...Read More designer, art director and industrial designer. He now leads as Studio Director -Kitchen & Bath, EMEA, Kohler Co. Over the years he describes the association to have fuelled his passion for inventiveness, innovation and originality
Dipen Gada
Founder & Principal Designer, Dipen Gada Associates (DGA)
Founder of Dipen Gada & Associates (DGA) in Vadodara, Dipen strives to achieve a fine balance of aesthetics and functionality in all his designs. Known to pay attention to detailing and use of natural materials, DGA is an award-winning firm and their portfolio spans across residential, commercial and recreational projects.
Eeshaan Kashyap
Founder, Eeshaan Kashyap & Co
Eeshaan Kashyap is the founder and creative force behind Eeshaan Kashyap & Co. A multidisciplinary talent, he uses food, beverage, design, photogr...Read Moreaphy, art, styling and social media to tell inspiring stories. Eeshaan began his journey as a trained chef, graduating from the prestigious Oberoi Centre for Learning and Development in 2011, with specializations in Western Culinary Arts and Indian Coastal Cuisine. He quickly became one of the Oberoi Group’s youngest executive chefs, with residencies at the Oberoi Vrinda and the Trident in Kochi, and then at the Italian specialty restaurant Traventino, at The Oberoi, New Delhi. During an exciting period of growth for the Indian restaurant industry, Eeshaan joined Pass Code Hospitality as Vice President and Partner, launching and heading operations and branding for award-winning boutique restaurants in Delhi, Goa and Kolkata. These include PCO, India’s first speakeasy-style cocktail bar; PDA, an intimate martini bar; private members’ club À Ta Maison; SAZ, an American brasserie; Ping’s Café Orient serving healthy Asian street food, and regional Indian powerhouse Jamun. As a culinary designer and food stylist, Eeshaan’s style is effortlessly sophisticated while full of delight and surprise. His narrative approach to food and beverage incorporates a unique visual vocabulary and distinctive flair. Whether it’s as a curator of special occasions or as a bar concierge accelerating the diversification of India’s beverage scene, Eeshaan leaves an indelible signature on all his work.
Ekta Parekh
Co-Founder, reD Architects
Ekta Parekh is one of the founding partners of reD Architects in Mumbai. She has worked on multiple small design studios to large scale corporate offi...Read Moreces, both in Mumbai and New York, bringing to the practice a blend of team spirit enriched with a curiosity to question the norm and empathy to give wings to ones dreams! Her experience ranges from architectural and interior design projects in the residential, commercial, hospitality, healthcare and institutional sector. Ekta has an undergraduate degree from KRVIA in Mumbai and has a master’s degree from UPENN, Philadelphia, with Theory and Technology as a major.
Gauri Devidayal
Co-Founder, Food Matters India
Gauri Devidayal is a law graduate from University College London and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England & Wales. After pur...Read Moresuing a career as a tax consultant in London for 8 years, Gauri returned to Mumbai where in early 2008, she met her husband, Jay Yousuf and was persuaded to leave the tax profession and to join him on his restaurant adventure. With no previous experience of the hospitality industry, Gauri along with Jay launched The Table, a restaurant in South Mumbai, which then went ahead to win many accolades and recognition in the city as well as internationally. In 2016, Gauri co-founded Magazine St. Kitchen, a culinary playground for intimate dinners, cooking workshops and more.In 2018, she partnered with the team from Neighborhood Hospitality to open Miss T, a South East Asian fine dining restaurant and cocktail lounge in Mumbai, which has now been transformed into a delivery kitchen. Listed in Forbes India’s 120 Leaders of Change, BlackBook’s Top 50 Women in Indian Luxury, Gauri also hosts her own podcast, ‘This Round Is on Me.’
Gurmeet Sian
Principal Architect & Founder, Office Sian Architecture + Design
Gurmeet Sian is an architect and also the founder of Office Sian Architecture + Design, an RIBA award-winning studio based in London. He is the curren...Read Moret RIBA London Project Architect of the Year winner, and is passionate about collaborating with families and larger communities to understand how places can be improved through the built environment and design. Gurmeet’s work has been recognised in local and national awards, and the studio has recently been included in the Architecture Foundations ‘New Architects 4’ book, a major publication showcasing the best studios working in the UK in the last 10 years.
Iram Sultan
Iram Sultan loves to dream off, and design spaces that evoke joy. Whether modern, contemporary, or transitional in their style, she works towards maki...Read Moreng homes joyous, warm, welcoming, comfortable, intimate, bespoke and totally tailored to the client. For Iram, design is as emotional as it is visually & aesthetically appealing. Fortunate enough to tell the stories of many wonderful people, she considers herself to be a story teller, someone who weaves magic and created narratives that are curated with love and told with passion. A lover of art, she extensively uses creatives works from Indian as well as international artists to breathe soul into the spaces. Collected, curated, happy homes is how one would describe Iram Sultan’s designs.
JJ Valaya
Founder & Designer, JJ Valaya
In 1989, JJ Valaya stepped into a nascent fashion Industry in India as a student of its first, and only fashion institute, the NIFT. In 1992, he, alon...Read Moreg with his brother, an ex-army man, TJ Singh, launched his eponymous label. He therefore enjoys the privilege of being a part of the pioneering group of Indian fashion designers … the ones who started the style revolution for Modern India. He is a founding member of the Board of Governors of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), and was the first official brand ambassador for global crystal giant, Swarovski. JJ is considered as one of India’s fashion pioneers and founder of one of its most respected luxury fashion and lifestyle houses, a journey that has earned him the title of the ‘Czar of Indian Couture’. No words perhaps best describe the Valaya brand than the one made by the Maharani of Kapurthala on a visit to his atelier: “You are truly the future of the past.” Besides fashion and home, he is also a critically acclaimed photographer with a focus on portraiture, architectural and travel photography. To bring his creative pursuits under one roof, he recently launched his 12,000 sq ft flagship experience in Delhi, The World of Valaya, a cohesive space that beautifully showcases his 3 loves, Fashion, Home and Photography.
Kunal Maniar
Partner & Design Head, Kunal Maniar & Associates
Regarded as one of India’s best landscape designers, Kunal Maniar graduated with a bachelor’s degree in horticulture, followed by a post graduate ...Read Moredegree in landscape architecture from University of Melbourne. He is a partner and Design Head at Kunal Maniar and Associates, which he founded in 2002. Sustainable and eco-friendly gardens, with a strong flavour for tropical wilderness, form the ethos and design principle for Kunal’s practice. In the past 20 years, the firm has gathered a wide spectrum of work ranging from hotels to hospitality, town houses, and weekend homes. The firm’s extensive client list includes eminent personalities such as Mukesh and Nita Ambani, Shah Rukh Khan, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Manish Gulati
Founding Partner & Architect, M:OFA Studio
Manish Gulati, an architect alumni of CEPT, Ahmedabad, started his career in the events and exhibition industry in the year 2000. He moved from there ...Read Moreas a creative director to start his own firm, MOFA Studio in 2002. Under his leadership, they have won multiple awards, special mentions and competitions. Their works have been published widely in leading design journals and are counted amongst the top firms of India. They have established themselves as specialists in the design of public sspaces and institutional buildings and their works range from large stadiums to private homes, humanitarian research projects and public aart installations. Their work generates an intense stimulation invigorated by life itself. Each project undertaken by the firm goes through exhaustive research and interactions to eventually derive intuitive spaces. Manish believes that a sustainable ideology can never be an isolated entity and should be a part of an all-inclusive process of design. His forte and driving passion till date remains design & innovation. He believes, through design we can provide solutions to any problem in the world.
Mickey Boardman
Editorial Director, Paper Magazine
Mickey Boardman is editor-at-large of Paper Magazine where he’s worked for 29 years. He writes a body positivity column called Fat and All That. He...Read Mores worked on iconic covers with the likes of Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Christina Aguilera and more. He’s worked for 10 years with Citta, a charity that builds schools, clinics and women’s centers in India and Nepal. He’s appeared as a pop culture and royal history expert on CNN, VH-1, A & E, Bravo and E! networks. In 2021 he launched a clothing line, Mr Mickey, with the shopping platform Live Rocket.
Nitya Arora
Owner & Creative Director, Valliyan
Nitya Arora, an alumnus of Parsons School of Design, New York is the Creative Director of VALLIYAN, a bespoke jewellery brand. A pioneer in the luxury...Read More fashion jewellery space, she started Valliyan in 2008 at the age of 21 and has won multiple fashion awards and accolades since then. She has adorned celebrities from Kim Kardashian, Niki Minaj, Katy Perry, Frida Pinto to Sridevi, Aishwarya Rai, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and many more. Additionally, she is also a luxury creative consultant and is one of the first designer’s to make a completely sustainable jewellery line. She has also played muse for couturiers like Gaurav Gupta, Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla as well as designers like Nikhil Thampi and Raw Mango. A champion of body positivity, her latest venture in 2021 is her newly launched clothing like called MALAI Life, which blurs the lines between work, home and holiday wear.
Palinda Kannangara
Founder, Palinda Kannangara Architects
Sri-Lanka based architect Palinda Kannangara is the founder of Palinda Kannangara Architects. With a background in Mathematics and Architecture, as a ...Read Morestudent Palinda trained under Sri Lankan modernist architect Anura Rantavibhushana, who also worked with renowned Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa for 16 years. Established in 2005, Palinda Kannangara Architects is known for experiential architecture that hinges on simplicity, and connection with the natural environment. The firm’s work has been recognized for its contextual sensitivity, crafted material use and a minimalism reflective of the Sri Lankan ethos. Their portfolio spans the breadth of Sri Lanka, from the dry zone, to the wetlands, to the coast on a diverse palette of projects, often small in scale. The firm has been the recipient of several prestigious national and international awards in its 16 years of practice. Their own Studio at Rajagiriya is one of the winners of the RIBA International Awards for Excellence in Architecture 2018. More recently they have won the RIBA International Award for Excellence for their project Artist Retreat at Pittugala and the 5th Triennial Geoffrey Bawa Award for Excellence in Architecture for their project Frame Holiday Structure at Imaduwa 2021. The firm’s work has been featured in the recent El Croquis monograph 212.
Priyanka Mehra
Prinicpal Architect & Designer, P S Design
With almost two decades of experience in the field, Priyanka P. Mehra helms P S Design, an award-winning architecture and Interior design studio based...Read More out of India and UAE. P S Design is well versed with work across both residential and commercial sectors including several luxury villas, offices as well as hospitality projects with a list of clients that include acclaimed builders including Kalpataru, Evershine, Nyati, Mantri and Mahagun and high end private clients like Claridges Group of Hotels, MBG Group, Nivia Industries, Aidem Ventures and bollywood celebrities like Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Kriti Sanon, amongst others. Bringing her vision of a good design which should be classically influenced yet contemporary in its intent, with highest level of detail and creative expression, and combining her background as an architect with a design excellence approach to interiors, Priyanka builds a harmonized experience built on an alchemy of design.
Rahul Mishra
Designer, Rahul Mishra
Rahul Mishra, the first Indian designer to showcase at the Paris Haute Couture Week, champions slow fashion with traditional Indian crafts. His eponym...Read Moreous label with two flagship stores in India and a thriving national and international distribution channel finds its genesis in the ideas of sustainability that present fashion as a tool to create participation and empower the local craft community of India. The brand’s purpose defines the process. The achingly slowed down process of hand-weaving and hand embroidery allows to build sustainable livelihoods for more than 1000 artisans. The design house that works on the philosophy of the 3 E’s - Environment, Employment, and Empowerment, aims to look at luxury from the lens of participation and not just consumption.
Rajiv Parekh
Co-Founder, reD Architects
After completing his education from KRVIA, Pratt (M. Arch) and a summer course at AA London, architect Rajiv Parekh returned to his native Mumbai and ...Read Morefounded reD, along with his wife, Ekta Parekh. With an aim to create a purpose and process-oriented international benchmark for contemporary architecture and design, he has been the creative force behind some of the most iconic homes and offices in India. Later joined by Apoova Shroff, Maithill Raut and a supporting team of 40, reD now boasts some of the most talented architects and designers in India – affectionately known as “TeamreD”, or, “The reDs”. Rajiv works in concert with each client; a process, he says, that gives him the unique opportunity to create dialogue and research that galvanize distinct concepts and captures key personalized characteristics of reD’s clients.
Ravi Vazirani
Founder & Interior Designer, Ravi Vazirani Design Studio
Ravi Vazirani Design Studio based in a quiet, lush cul de sac in Bandra, Mumbai is a boutique practice catering to a clientele that values aesthetic, ...Read Morepracticality and that dash of je ne sais quoi. The studio has worked on a variety of setups - from the retail projects like the Atmosphere stores, studio and office spaces for the likes of Himatsingkas, restaurants and cafes like The Stolen Coffee room in New Mumbai and High Spirits in Pune and the homes of design cognoscenti like Bollywood producer Karan Johar besides several prominent developers. The founder and creative behind the studio is Ravi Vazirani, who in his career honed his creative eye by serving as an Associate Style Editor with Living Etc.,a UK-based interiors and lifestyle magazine. Having free-lanced for a few years he acquired a small but significant coterie of clients from the realms of retail, product and residential design and went on to establish the Ravi Vazirani Design Studio in 2010. An award-winning creative, he has now actively been designing spaces for 7 years. Design is an intrinsic part of Ravi's daily life and he finds inspiration from everything he encounters, be it his immediate surroundings or his travels around the world. However, who ultimately inspire his artistry are his clients - their needs, their aesthetics and their life stories. That's why no two designs are alike, yet all of them have that unique stamp of workmanship and flair, which is all his own.
Soumitro Ghosh
Co-Founder & Partner, Mathew and Ghosh Architects (M&G)
Soumitro Ghosh is the co-founder and partner of Bangalore-based firm Mathew and Ghosh Architects @architects_mathewghosh. Established in 1995, Mathew ...Read Moreand Ghosh Architects is one of the top architectural and design firms of India and their work ranges from projects / ideas to do with the urban environment, sustainability, architecture, space, interiors, product design and so on. Educated at the School of Architecture CEPT Ahmedabad, Soumitro Ghosh has earlier worked with Pritzker Laureate B.V. Doshi, R.J. Vasavada, Neelkanth Chaaya, K B Jain, Jaswant Singh and others before beginning this collaborative multidirectional practice. The practice with Nisha Mathew covers urban/ people parks and memorials, hospitality, conservation, industrial facilities, corporate offices, religious and residential buildings, exhibition, interiors, furniture, jewelry, art and installations. He has taught at the Bengal Institute, Dhaka and been the Charles Correa Design Chair, juror, panelist etc. at numerous occasions and forums. He began his journey of teaching with Kumar Vyas, founding member of NID. His personal interests lie in crossings of politics, philosophy, culture and history to understand the society we live in and design for.
Sunita Kohli
President, K2INDIA
Sunita Kohli is a globally recognized national award-winning interior designer, furniture manufacturer and architectural restorer since 1971. Her prof...Read Moreessional portfolio includes several significant public and heritage buildings, hotels and hotel boats, forts, palaces, libraries, museums and select residences in India, Egypt, Pakistan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. She is the President of K2India, an award-winning architectural and design firm, whose CEO and co-founder is architect Kohelika Kohli. Sunita Kohli is a former Chairperson of the School of Planning and Architecture in Bhopal. She has lectured and presented papers on various subjects at several universities in the UK, the USA and South-East Asia. In 1992, Sunita Kohli was conferred the Padma Shri, “for contribution to national life in the field of interior design and architectural restoration”, by the President of India in New Delhi; and also presented the Mahila Shiromani Award by Mother Teresa (now St. Teresa), in Kolkata.
Urvashi Kaur
Designer, Urvashi Kaur
Designer and entrepreneur Urvashi Kaur, with a striking 16 years in the fashion and textile industry, is one of the foremost Indian voices that are a ...Read Morepart of the sustainability movement in India. Motivated, ambitious and mindful, her label embodies a ‘Glocal’ ideology, putting in place ethical business practices, strict zero waste policies and efficient ways to minimise carbon footprint to achieve circularity. While engaging a cross section of artisans and craftspeople, Urvashi has carved a solid niche within then conscious luxury space.
Vedant Lamba
Founder, Mainstreet
Sneakers have never been more in demand — collaborations, drops, and pieces gone within seconds are the defining aspects of the hype culture. The br...Read Moreainchild of 22-year-old Vedant Lamba, Mainstreet Marketplace is a multi-brand hype sneaker and apparel resale store that aims to make limited editions, one-of-a-kind sneakers, and high-end streetwear accessible to the masses. The interesting thing here is that despite being one of the more successful sneaker resellers in India, Vedant is surprising, not a collector himself. Intrigued by the growing sneaker culture, Vedant Lamba started Mainstreet TV, a YouTube channel talking about new sneaker launches and their availability. This organically mushroomed into Mainstreet Marketplace with a small shop in Pune. The age that Vedant started his venture is perhaps the general demographic of his audience. In India, the GenZ is the biggest cognoscente both in terms of interest and investment in the hype culture. It wasn’t just access to limited-edition sneakers that intrigued Vedant into the space. Leveraging his advantage of being early on the scene, Lamba has grown his brand to two physical retail stores, one in Mumbai and the other in Delhi. He doesn't specify what's hot and new at his stores, through which the most hard-to-cop Off Whites and Yeezys sell like hotcakes.
Vinod Jain
MD, Magppie
Vinod Jain is the visionary behind Magppie, a brand that introduced stylish steel products and home accessories in the 2000's. Having spent his life a...Read Morecross New York, London, Shanghai, Florence, Lyon and Mumbai, he is a three-time winner of the prestigious Red Dot International Design Award. Vinod is a social entrepreneur who believes in striking a harmonious balance between people, planet and profit via design and in the last 5 years, he has co-founded a ‘not for profit’ community with his daughter Subah called ‘Satvic Movement’. This community is today one of the world's largest health education platforms, with 40 lakh followers & 70,000 patients, who have reversed their chronic diseases without any medication, just by changing food & lifestyle changes. Moving further in this wellness journey, Vinod has successfully set up an R&D lab in Germany & India, which are progressively working on developing disruptive wellness products in the field of lighting, air and water quality.
Vishaan Chakrabarti
Founder & Creative Director, Practice of Architecture & Urbanism (PAU)
With over twenty-five years of proven experience authoring and implementing visionary urban architecture, Vishaan Chakrabarti is the Founder and Creat...Read Moreive Director of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism | PAU, where he leads the firm’s growing global portfolio of cultural, institutional, and public projects. Vishaan has been a principal at major architecture firms including SHoP Architects and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Chakrabarti is the author of the highly acclaimed book, A Country of Cities: A Manifesto for an Urban America (Metropolis Books, 2013), and is working on a second upcoming book for Princeton University Press entitled The Architecture of Urbanity: Designing Cities for Pluralism and Planet. Vishaan has served as the William W. Wurster Dean of the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley and was a professor at Columbia University for a decade. Vishaan lectures internationally; contributes articles and op-eds to the New York Times, Crain’s Business, and other publications; has appeared on CBS Evening News, MSNBC’s The Cycle, National Public Radio, WNYC, and other television and radio programs; and was a main- stage speaker at TED 2018: The Age of Amazement and a featured speaker at TED Connects 2020: Build Back Better. He serves on the boards of the Architectural League of New York, the Regional Planning Association, the Norman Foster Foundation, and The World Around. Vishaan is also a Mentor & Protégé for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, a member of the National Council on US-China Relations and has served on the National Mayor’s Institute of City Design.
Vivek Gupta
Principal Architect, Arvind Vivek & Associates
Vivek Gupta is a design practitioner with over 35 years of experience in the field of urban planning, architecture & interiors. A firm believer of...Read More build-to-suit architecture, his work tends to bear a design vocabulary that is open to interpretation of experience, or as he says “Think of my projects like savouring a dish, you give me an egg and instead of an omelette- I will present a soufflé”. His style constitutes a bit of flamboyance, with a hint of imperfection and is yet fundamental, allowing the users to enjoy the built form with their divergent perceptions
Zaki Shaikh
Founder & Principal Architect, Parthenon Architects
Parthenon Architects, founded by entrepreneur and architect Zaki Shaikh, is a multi-faceted design studio with more than 135 clients from extremely di...Read Moreverse backgrounds from across India. Their clients include some of the largest MNCs and Indian corporates across the public and private sectors and NGOs. Prior to starting Parthenon Architects, Zaki worked at India's leading firm Talati and Panthaky for over 10 years and it’s his detail oriented approach over the years that has helped the studio as well as clients grow, sustain and embrace modern design in an organic manner. Parthenon Architects also has a very strong residential, hospitality and retail portfolio, which includes designs for some of the most acclaimed celebrities in the country along with global and Indian fashion brands.
Zubin Master
Co-Founder & Director, Design Matrix
Zubin Master is the co-founder of Design Matrix along with Ruby Khanna and Suleiman Bhanji. The 30-year old firm is a multidisciplinary spatial design...Read More studio that offers interior design solutions. Following a theory of ‘never saying no’ to any kind of work, their portfolio includes a variety of projects ranging from residential, commercial, hospitality, and theatres. One of their other philosophies, ‘try to reduce everything till it reaches a state of purity’ is again something that they strive to achieve with every project. Zubin, an award-winning creative, started his career at Talati & Panthaky Associates and has worked on several noteworthy projects over his three decades in the industry. The Indus Club in Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai is a particularly fitting reflection of his oeuvre—contemporary yet elegant and timeless.
