Retail Store for Ekaya Banaras, Mumbai Capturing the Enduring Legacy of Banarasi Brocade for a Contemporary Retail Experience

Studio Lotus has designed a new store for the luxury apparel brand Ekaya Banaras at the Ador House, an old heritage building in Mumbai’s iconic Kala Ghoda art district. Occupying the second floor of the building, the outlet seeks to re-imagine the brand’s enduring presence as a boutique retailer of hand-woven Banarasi Sarees through the juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary design narratives.

Studio Lotus, in the past, had been commissioned to design a retail store for the brand, as well as an exhibition space — Cousu D’Or — by Ekaya Banaras and the Federation Francaise de la Creation Couture Sure Mesure to showcase a mélange of hand-woven frame textile with French bridal couture. The design brief for the Mumbai store outlined the client’s vision for a space that is contemporary yet rooted in the authenticity and legacy of the textile craft it showcases. It called for a new interpretation of the brand – respecting its identity and what it has stood for thus far, but also capturing its aspirations and vision in an ever-evolving retail space. The primary design challenge, therefore, was to strike a balance between traditional and modern notions of what the brand identifies itself with, and offers in turn to its target audience. 

Upon entering via a glass door, visitors are greeted by a Banarasi draped mannequin folding hands in a welcoming Namaste gesture. Drawing parallels from Banaras’s bustling bylanes lined with quaint sari shops, the floor plan is characterised by users moving through an immersive array of shopping pockets, featuring the brand’s varied collections – such as a section housing rolls of woven fabric (Thaans), Ekaya Classics, and bridal wear, as well as nooks designed to showcase ready-to-wear lehengas and suits. All pockets flank a central collaboration zone — a space housing four distinct display systems from numerous designers that the brand works with. In addition, the display units feature concept illustrations and paraphernalia originating from the design exercises that have gone into the design and development of the merchandise, establishing a deeper brand connect through visual storytelling.

Conceived as the centrepiece of the spatial experience, a sinuous, diaphanous lighting installation traces the ceiling above the collaborative zone. Designed in collaboration with Ankon Mitra of Hexagramm, the floral form of the installation has been crafted using Banarasi fabric; it creates a point of visual focus on the display system and merchandise place below. 

Each pocket housed within the space marks a brief interlude for the shopper to pause, explore and select from the vibrant offerings. The store has retained original furnishings to reinforce the traditional narrative at play – the interaction alluding to a typical sari shopping spree in a bustling Indian bazaar — an experience that appeals to Indian consumer sensibilities at an innate level. 

The design team has created a pared-back grey backdrop to highlight the vibrant and colourful merchandise, as it stands juxtaposed against the stark, monochromatic surfaces. The flooring uses large-format black marble tiles, with pink Indian stone and brass inlay creating linear accents, further accentuating the bright and soft colours of the textiles on display.

Marking a departure from the brand signage installed at the retailer’s previous outlets, the one at Ekaya Mumbai has been meticulously devised to blend in with the facade of the heritage building. It comprises of a brass frame adorned with a patchwork of colourful intersecting cotton threads, overlapping in a series of colours and textures to create a striking, ‘pop’ backdrop for the brand logo.

The design for the Mumbai store is intended to offer shoppers a curated high-end retail experience, underpinned by the brand’s vision to evolve with time — and to celebrate the lasting legacy of textile craft that emerges from the handlooms of Banaras.