editorial

<p><em>Now more than ever, the Indian megacity’s original commercial district is the place to head for designer boutiques and art spaces.</em></p>
<figure id="attachment_135340" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-135340" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-135340 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-2.jpg" alt="Ikat table linens at Translate; the Payal Khandwala store in Kala Ghoda." width="1200" height="800" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-2.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-2-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-135340" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Left to right: Ikat</em> table linens at Translate; the Payal Khandwala store in Kala Ghoda. (Courtesy of Translate; courtesy of Payal Khandwala)</figcaption></figure>
<h5><strong><a href="https://moonray.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Moonray</a></strong></h5>
<p>Craftsmanship takes on a contemporary edge at this lunar-inspired clothing shop in the by-lanes of the Kala Ghoda arts district. Co-founder Karishma Swali’s export atelier Chanakya International has long been committed to the preservation and promotion of fine Indian textile crafts, collaborating with global fashion houses such as Dior. Moonray, which Swali launched with her teenage daughter Avantika in 2021, is its playful sister brand, turning out structured jackets, stone-dotted mesh dresses, and futuristic occasion wear in consciously sourced materials like hemp, vegan cacti leather, and forest-certified viscose. The shop also has a premium made-to-measure rack in addition to its ready-to-wear clothing and accessories.<br />
<a href="https://moonray.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moonray.in</a></p>
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<h5><strong><a href="https://www.cordstudio.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cord</a> </strong></h5>
<p>Husband-and-wife owners Pranav Guglani and Neha Singh started this leather accessories label as a fun experiment on Facebook. So great was the response that they decided to branch out into clothing as well, opening their first flagship store in New Delhi in 2017. Cord’s two-floor Kala Ghoda outpost carries its full range of easy, vintage-inspired apparel alongside hand-stitched leather bags, wallets, and clutches.<br />
<a href="https://www.cordstudio.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cordstudio.com</a></p>
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<h5><strong><a href="https://www.tarq.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="broken_link">TARQ</a></strong></h5>
<p>First opened in nearby Colaba in 2014 as an incubator for young artists, TARQ unveiled its expansive new digs on AK Nayak Marg earlier this year. The utilitarian yet beautiful space—think poured concrete floors and stark white walls punctuated by archways—has been de- signed by Japanese architect Katsushi Goto inside a century-old brick-faced building. A vigorous outreach program ties in with the gallery’s exhibitions and overall raison d’être through workshops, walk-throughs, and talks. On show until the end of the year are ceramic works by sculptor Savia Mahajan.<br />
<a href="https://www.tarq.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="broken_link">tarq.in</a></p>
<figure id="attachment_135341" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-135341" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-135341 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-3.jpg" alt="Inside TARQ gallery’s spacious new Fort address." width="1200" height="800" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-3.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-3-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-3-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-135341" class="wp-caption-text">Inside TARQ gallery’s spacious new Fort address. (Courtesy of Sameer Kulavoor/TARQ)</figcaption></figure>
<h5><strong><a href="https://global.payalkhandwala.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Payal Khandwala</a></strong></h5>
<p>The designer of this eponymous clothing label spent eight years studying and practicing fine art in New York City before moving back home to Mumbai and starting her own fashion line in 2012. Set under the teak rafters of Kala Ghoda’s Bharthania Building, her charcoal-gray flagship store is hung with jewel-toned ponchos, jackets, trousers, dresses, and kurtas made with Benares silk, Bengal cotton, or <em>khadi</em>, the humble homespun fabric once popularized as a symbol of nationalism by Mahatma Gandhi.<br />
<a href="https://global.payalkhandwala.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">global.payalkhandwala.com</a></p>
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<h5><strong><a href="https://pooranawalla.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pooranawalla</a> </strong></h5>
<p>This vintage furniture and artifacts store is owned by Moorthy’s, a company that has dealt in antiques for over four decades in both Mumbai and Goa. Its new address in the Examiner Press Building is a lovely space with light-filled rooms and a charming outdoor garden. Expect a trove of art deco and midcentury-modern pieces alongside a slew of antiques—everything from Zanzibar chests and <em>bhuta</em> masks to ornate light fixtures, ceramics, and more.<br />
<a href="https://pooranawalla.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pooranawalla.com</a></p>
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<h5><strong><a href="https://ikatindia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Translate</a> </strong></h5>
<p>Hyderabad-based clothing and home-textile label Translate works exclusively with traditional, handcrafted <em>ikat</em> fabric, which its sixth-generation artisans shape into comfy apparel and stylish lifestyle products like table linens and cushion covers. The company’s compact outlet on Rope Walk Lane is filled with visually striking yet versatile and functional looks—think kaftans, relaxed-fit dresses, and men’s wear in bold color combinations of red-blue, pink-purple, and yellow-gray.<br />
<a href="https://ikatindia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ikatindia.com</a></p>
<figure id="attachment_135342" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-135342" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-135342 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-4.jpg" alt="Gauri Verma and Karuna Laungani at the Jodi store; a men’s linen blazer at Cord." width="1200" height="894" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-4.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-4-300x224.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-4-1024x763.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-4-768x572.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-135342" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Left to right:</em> Gauri Verma and Karuna Laungani at the Jodi store; a men’s linen blazer at Cord. (Photo: Rahul Mahadik; courtesy of Cord)</figcaption></figure>
<h5><strong><a href="https://www.galeriems.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke</a> </strong></h5>
<p>In 2003, prominent art dealer Usha Mirchandani and her daughter Ranjana opened Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke in Colaba, just behind The Taj Mahal Palace hotel, and began working with a circle of emerging young talents who are now significant names in the Indian art scene. Last year, the gallery relocated to a 460-square-meter space inside a stone-clad heritage building in Fort’s Ballard Estate, where it continues to rep some of the country’s most sought-after contemporary artists. The beautiful, light-filled viewing room makes this a superlative experience for art aficionados.<br />
<a href="https://www.galeriems.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">galeriems.com</a></p>
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<h5><strong><a href="https://thejodilife.com/en-int" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Jodi Store</a> </strong></h5>
<p>One of India’s most popular homegrown brands now has its first flagship store in Mumbai. Founded by former fashion stylists Gauri Verma and Karuna Laungani, Jodi is a block-printed clothing label known for its floral and abstract motifs. The new shop is inspired by the circular mud-walled <em>bhunga</em> houses of the Kutch region in Gujarat, featuring colorful murals, rounded edges, and a gorgeous tapestry in the changing room—the perfect backdrop to Jodi’s vibrant collection of women’s wear, men’s shirts, jewelry, and accessories.<br />
<a href="https://thejodilife.com/en-int" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thejodilife.com</a></p>
<figure id="attachment_135339" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-135339" style="width: 1380px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-135339 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-1.jpg" alt="A work by Kerala artist Ratheesh T hanging in Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke." width="1380" height="920" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-1.jpg 1380w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Fort-Mumbai-Art-and-Retail-1-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1380px) 100vw, 1380px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-135339" class="wp-caption-text">A work by Kerala artist Ratheesh T hanging in Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke. (Courtesy of Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke)</figcaption></figure>
<p><em>This article originally appeared in the <a href="http://www.destinasian.com/magazine" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="broken_link">October/November 2023</a> print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Mumbai to the Max”).</em></p>


A work by Kerala artist Ratheesh T hanging in Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke.

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