Vikram Goyal is bringing brocade, brass, and the Ramayana to London

Walk into Vikram Goyal’s home in Delhi’s Sundar Nagar, and it becomes immediately clear that he was never going to make it as a minimalist. Every corner seems to have something to look at. A framed section of a Jodhpur ceiling hangs on one wall, brocade pieces sit alongside works from his own collection, and artworks by artists, including Bharti Kher and Subodh Gupta, appear almost casually through the house. There are sculptures, textiles, furniture, and objects at every turn. It is the sort of space where you could probably spend an hour looking at one wall and still miss something on the other.

Just earlier this month, the designer brought together a small group of people from the worlds of art, design, and culture in a “baithak” at home ahead of the unveiling of Wings and Tales, his new collection that heads to London this festive season. It was as if to show how this house itself, with its splashy surroundings, offers the perfect background to launch a line of bold and purposefully eccentric Diwali decor: There are brocades, brass, velvet, elaborate screens and richly patterned carpets, all drawing on the visual abundance of the Indian home and the stories that have shaped it.

Goyal has spent more than two decades building that visual language. After starting out in finance, he moved into design and developed a practice rooted in Indian craft, particularly metalwork and repoussé. His pieces have since travelled well beyond Delhi, appearing at Milan Design Week, PAD London, and this year’s Homo Faber in Venice, where his ‘Bagh’ collection was presented. His studio now works across metal, weaving, embroidery, pearl marquetry, and brocade, collaborating with artisans across India.

For the festive season ahead, Goyal is taking his signature maximalist vocabulary to London. The exhibition Wings and Tales, which runs from October 12 to 16 alongside Frieze and PAD London, transforms a Georgian townhouse in Mayfair into a fantastical home inspired by the Ramayana. There are brass screens, velvet and silk brocade seating, Samarkand-style rugs, animal-foot furniture, and a mother-of-pearl chessboard populated by monkeys.

The baithak is only the beginning. The London show will also host literary salon-style conversations with writers such as Sam Dalrymple and Gurnaik Johal, alongside food, drink, and plenty to look at. Before the evening got going, we sat down with Goyal to talk about Wings and Tales, his design practice, and what comes next.

What were some of your sources of inspiration for the collection?

I wanted to continue what I had done in Paris with Soul Garden, where I created these large animals and a multisensory experience. I was also interested in continuing the conversation between craft, spirituality, and nature. I was reminded of a wonderful miniature painting from Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur, particularly the scenes of monkeys playing in Madhuban before they go to Lanka. We then developed our own version using monkeys, bears, jasmine, and squirrels while also drawing from Chinese ceramics and screens, Samarkand rugs, and Art Deco furniture.

Why was it important for you to extend the exhibition into a literary salon?

I wanted to create a space where we could invite people to engage, communicate, and appreciate intellectual discourse. This was also my response to the world around us, with upheaval in nature, floods, natural disasters, and climate change. Why don’t we create this kind of environment where people can come together and exchange ideas?

Is there a tiny detail that people might miss at first glance?

You have to go closer. Half the collection is about these animals at play. In some of the pieces, you see monkeys whizzing around, either on rockets or carrying flags. But these could mean two things. Are they celebrating Diwali or are they going to war? There’s a duality to these things. They’re not just playfully going around.

Was there anything particularly difficult to translate from the story into a physical object?

To me, what’s important is what that physical form evokes in your mind. We’ve created this fantastical forest using large screens, with carpets representing land, air, and sea, and brocades with the feet of crocodiles and birds. The question is, does it give you a sense of that miniature painting? Does it give you a sense of the Ramayana and that world of playfulness but also of danger and celebration?

You started out in finance and worked as an economist. Does that side of your brain ever show up when you’re designing?

My first job, and my last job in that field, taught me basic lessons in accountability, human resources, organisation, management, demand and supply, and all those things. I could then apply those left-brain values to my right-brain world of culture and creativity.

Is there a design motif you’re simply tired of seeing?

Where I’d like to see more...not progress but more excitement or pushing the envelope is in contemporary architecture. Also, when I started work, I started working with a lot of Indian motifs. But now, I can’t look at another lotus. (laughs)

What’s your most irrational design pet peeve?

Samples, samples, samples. Keep sampling until you get it right. It drives my design team crazy, but that’s what it is.

Is there a design guilty pleasure you keep coming back to?

I think collecting books every time I travel. Any books really—culture books, art books, design books. And checking out different bars for their interiors. That’s the one. Not for the cocktails, obviously. (laughs)

Is there a medium you’re particularly excited about right now?

I’m excited about brocades right now, and the immersive nature of my shows has been very exciting too. I worked with scent in Paris and now I’m exploring this immersive experience through the baithak.

If you had 24 hours in London and could only look at things from a design perspective, where would you go?

The Royal Academy of Arts, Portobello Road flea market, and the designer stores and antique stores at Pimlico.

What does your media diet look like right now?

Reading; there’s a lot of, sadly, newspaper reading. There’s not enough time for any other reading or podcasts. I’ve started reading Shattered Lands by Sam Dalrymple.

And what was the last good show you watched?

The Shards. I love Ryan Murphy. I’m still going through it. It started off very well, but it hasn’t quite been able to maintain that momentum. Keeping up that kind of Hollywood glamour while sustaining a murder mystery over eight episodes is difficult.

Finally, with Diwali around the corner, what do you actually like gifting and receiving?

I like gifting scented candles and candle stands. I like receiving books and good champagne.