The residents of south Mumbai, or SoBo, love a theme party, and earlier this week the dress code was the ’20s. The agenda? Celebrations for Art Deco Alive!, a twin-city festival commemorating 100 years of the Art Deco movement across Mumbai and Miami that’s currently on across the city. The evening was hosted by Mumbai-based entrepreneur Smiti Kanodia and fellow patrons of the arts Salma Merchant Rahmathulla and Gayatri Hingorani Dewan. The evening was just one part of a busy schedule of events that the trio has planned all month for citizens to engage with the history of their seaside city. Tuesday night, however, was all about the looks—multiple layers of Chanel pearl necklaces, heirloom jewels pulled from family vaults, and elegant saris that conjured up Bollywood actresses of yore. It was a stylish homage to a period of design that’s defined the city’s past and continues to distinguish its future. Below, some of the details we enjoyed.
Pooja Advani, luxury fashion curator
Tell us about your outfit.
“The dress is maybe a decade old and it’s by Rachel Zoe. The bag is Simone Rocha, the pearls and earrings Chanel, and my shoes are Aquazzura.”
You are a Mumbai girl through and through. Why does Art Deco have such a special resonance with the city?
“I think all of us have an Art Deco story. It’s either a school building or an elevator or a doctor’s clinic. It’s the mosaic floors we have grown up with even in the theatres. Movies, popcorn, and Art Deco... They all go together.”
James Ferreira, designer
Tell us about your outfit.
“This is a Chinese silk dressing gown, because gowns like these were very in in the 1920s, especially with all the brunching and lounging they did. And then the wing-collar shirt with the Art Deco brooch, which is from Taara by Sangeeta Khanna, and then my Indian lungi.”
What does Art Deco mean to you?
“It is the most beautiful of art periods, because for me it’s the beginning of geometry and the beginning of straight lines that took us back to primitive art. Before that it was all about Christian or pastoral iconography or, later, Art Nouveau, which were very decorative. And this was the simplification of everything.”
Aria Parikh, head of merchandising, Ensemble
I love your sari. Is it actually from the ’20s?
“So, this Kanjivaram is a recreation of a sari from the ’20s. The sari was donated to The Registry of Sarees and then recently recreated by them for their brand Yali. I think it is the softest, most buttery Kanjivaram that I have ever worn.”
As a Mumbai girl, what does Art Deco mean to you?
“Everything. I feel like I have grown up looking at and living in the most stunning Deco structures. People don’t think Mumbai has space, but there’s a generosity of space and proportion in our homes that you really get nowhere else. You just know when you’re in a Deco home, even if you don’t know the language for it.”
Hina Oomer-Ahmed, art and design curator
Tell us about your outfit.
“I have on a sari blouse from Tarun Tahiliani. The skirt is from Chorus and the jacket is from Qua Clothing. The jewellery is a mix of Chanel and Isharya.”
What does Art Deco mean to you?
“I think it means style and glamour but with a sense of extravagance.”
