You wouldn’t see it through the one-way glazing on the front door, but a day before opening, Viya’s flagship at the historic Trafford House in South Mumbai is a flurry of activity. To the lay eye, the store looks ready for business. Set across the 4,600 square feet ground floor of a colonial-era building, it feels like an art gallery, populated with so much perfectly placed collectible furniture and decor that you can’t help but slow down just to take it all in. Still, there are a few more pieces being assembled as I walk through, and in the interior rooms, I get a glimpse of the brand’s first ever soft furnishings collections going up on the shelves. When he took over the space, Viya's founder Vikram Goyal had made sure to retain the arched stained glass windows, corniced beams and patterned flooring tiles of the old structure; they pair well with the sculpted metals, carved woodwork and precious stones on display.
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The store unfolds across three distinct spaces: one enters through the main gallery, which showcases the breadth of Viya’s home furnishings and decor collections, where a monumental faceted brass checkout counter, designed by the studio in its signature repoussé technique, features all the motifs found across Viya’s collections. The next room, smaller and more intimate, houses Viya’s first ever apparel section, and beyond that is a third space dedicated to the brand’s newly launched soft furnishing segment. As I wait for Goyal, I’m offered a seat on one of the Chakra chairs, knotted and woven entirely out of cane. I giggle nervously as it creaks under my weight, but I am assured that’s nothing to worry about—it is real cane after all, and a few squeaks are to be expected. Within seconds, I’m so comfortable, I would have happily lounged there all day.
The same is true of the Twist and Knot sofa, an affair of woven jute and coir hand-knotted in the style of a traditional charpoy, which I shift to when Goyal arrives. “This is inspired by a jaali, a stone lattice,” the designer points out. “Everything here has some story related to India, whether it’s myth, fable, fruit, fauna, or architecture.” Goyal’s intention with Viya is to create contemporary pieces that carry the knowledge of Indian craft heritage out into the world, and to be fair, you’d be hard-pressed to think of an Indian craft form that isn’t in attendance; there’s woven cane and knotted rope, beaten brass and cast bronze, stone inlay and embroidery. The aesthetic, however, manages to capture the sort of organic, process-driven, material-first sensibility that has come to define global design. The Banyan Tree-inspired brass mirrors wouldn’t be out of place in a Mediterranean resort or a Berlin nightclub, and the semi-precious stone overlay on the Maheshwar console table would be an asset to any lounge or conference room in the world. I can’t imagine anyone not falling in love with the tortoise-shaped cane laundry basket.
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The Dreamscape collection, inspired by the 17th century Rajput manuscript “The Book of Dreams,” has expanded since it first launched at Viya’s pop-up at The Stands last year, and we now see the fabled mythical creatures frolicking on bed linens as well as tableware. There are botanical-inspired brass works through the painstakingly assembled Glory Lily collection, and the brand’s love affair with cane holds strong with the clean, symmetrical Namsai and off-kilter Majuli collections. The newest, and potentially most surprising addition to the Viya oeuvre, is its collection of breezy apparel that carries forward the various narratives into everyday clothing. “I want good design to be democratic and accessible,” Goyal shares of the brand’s pivot from pure home to “lifestyle.” “Fashion is just more accessible to people. It’s just about creating various touchpoints for people to connect with the brand. And we are a very large creative team, so we’re able to create that diversity in our offerings.”
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Even as they gear up for the big launch, it’s evident this is only the beginning—I am assured there are many more collection launches and exciting new products in the pipeline as we speak. Behind the scenes, Viya’s designers experiment with new materials, testing the limits of what’s possible. I’m told there’s a jewellery collection coming soon. “We work on common themes and inspirations, and it’s very collaborative and interactive,” Goyal tells me. “We’re going to keep introducing new categories and new materials over the coming months, so there’s a lot of momentum. There’s a lot going on.”
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