Falguni Shane Peacock’s flagship store is an immersion into the brand and all that it stands for. Located in the heart of the luxury and art & cultural turf and sprawled across 6000 sq feet of the heritage area, Kala Ghoda in South Bombay, the store is an endeavor to create an experience. FSP’s vision and aesthetics amalgamated with Gauri Khan’s sensibilities, the Bombay flagship store is the result of a creative journey. “The collaboration was a natural fit with Falguni Shane Peacock and Gauri Khan, both being exceptional designers and leaders in their space. I just thought it will be a great collaboration to get all these creative minds together to create the flagship store, and naturally a space that no one has seen in India before”, says Tanaaz Bhatia of Bottomline Media, who was a key factor behind the collaboration.
One of the first and most discernible characteristics about the store would be its heritage structure, and Gauri Khan has prudently preserved and designed the whole store around it. The aesthetics have been planned to complement this heritage and cultural theme which gives the feeling of legacy and contemporary at the same time, a hallmark of rootedness and innovativeness. Architects Komal & Amit Malwade, partners of PCA Group, a design firm based out of Mumbai, has focused on the stores’ design sensibilities, transforming concepts into detailing and overseeing the execution of the store.
Gauri Khan’s sense of design is based on modern, contemporary and international aesthetics, and reflecting these the the space inside is designed for an experience in itself. “While designing, it was important for me to make the space functional and not imposing. It is the product that is most important and that should stand out. The idea is that when a client walks into the store, they should completely wipe it out,” says Gauri.
The store is covered with mezzanine flooring from Arnaya- the luxury interior décor brand specializing in marble. “The inlay was visualized by Gauri. The challenge was that all the pieces had to retain sharp edges with the need to lock into the Houndstooth pattern with no margin of play, hence all the individual pieces were cut on extremely precise water-jets leaving no place for error. The entire assembly was made at our factory and was installed on-site just like slabs. We used a pink marble from Portugal, a black marble from Italy and finally the white marble from India,” says Manan Trivedi whose brainchild Arnaya launched its debut collection with Gauri Khan.
The store is equipped with a concierge to guide and assist the clients around the store, while they pick and choose their outfits. Hailing the legacy of the brand the store is emblazoned with the FSP logo in gold and the establishment date is literally set in stone. Gauri Khan believes in incorporating the brand’s details into the designs and has planned the interiors to reflect the brand colour of powder pink, which can be seen on the doors to the concierge and the majority of the interiors. The peacock motif can also be seen sensibly scattered around the store, an example of the detailing that has gone into the interiors. “I want the space to have character,” says Gauri.
Weddings in India is not an event, but a whole experience in itself, from start to finish, and keeping this in mind the store features two bridal rooms which provide for ample private space to choose the perfect outfit for the special day. The store is adorned with several talking pieces, one of which is the regal-looking chandelier that flanks the high-ceiling structure. “When I first walked into this place, what I loved was the high ceiling and it is such a selling point for every interior designer when they are designing a space,” says Gauri. The chandelier is a restored piece from Calcutta which adds an old-world charm to the store. Other unconventional additions are a floor-toceiling cage structure and a fireplace. Akin to Falguni Shane Peacock’s Delhi flagship store, the Bombay store displays the signature brass peacocks, the only significant difference between the stores being dome shape of the former to the arches of the latter. The subtle hues of pink, geometric structures, gold linings, and Falguni Shane Peacock’s signature solid-colour toned patterns set in the floor, give it contemporary sensibilities with a mix of heritage.
CREATIVES SPEAK
“It was a great collaboration, working with Gauri Khan as the interior designer and Falguni Shane Peacock sharing in their inputs from the fashion industry and finally Arnaya bringing it all to life with its craftsmanship. Collaborating with people of similar wavelengths and respect to creativity and unconventional ideations is always something that Arnaya looks forward to,” says Manan. “There is a strong, unbreakable link between interior design and fashion. Falguni and Shane’s aesthetics with my design sensibilities has had the store come together beautifully. Teamwork is extremely important. The artistic skills of all 3 of us shared over a period of time have come together to life beautifully through this store. For me as a designer, it has been a really fulfilling experience to work with them and to see new designs come to life. It was a great experience and I really enjoyed it. Both, Falguni and Shane, are super creative and fun, so it never felt like work,” says Gauri Khan. The collaboration among the creative heads has ensured that no detail is spared.