Taking place this 2024 from 6–9 November, India’s first design show is set to showcase hand-picked local and international industry leaders, all while capturing the creative energy and consumer power of the world’s fifth-biggest economy.

Design Mumbai is India’s first design show with an international perspective and exhibitor presence. Pictured here, the Yasmine Chaise Lounge by Studio AKFD

Design Mumbai catapults India onto the global design stage | Novità

Design Mumbai is India’s first design show with an international perspective and exhibitor presence. Pictured here, the Yasmine Chaise Lounge by Studio AKFD

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The world's largest exercise in democracy is currently underway in the world's largest democracy. With nearly 970 million citizens eligible to vote in India's general election, the process takes an eyebrow-raising month and a half to complete.

The scale of the subcontinent's political franchise – and, indeed, its even larger total population – is reflected in the size of its nominal GDP, which, perhaps surprising to some, is ranked fifth largest globally, ahead of the UK and France. 

It’s within this hyper-dynamic context that the country’s first major international design fair, Design Mumbai, will throw open its doors later this year to an international audience of A&D professionals, planners and other expert specifiers.

The trade show will feature many emerging Indian brands, such as Morii – a dynamic textile brand based in Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Design Mumbai catapults India onto the global design stage | Novità

The trade show will feature many emerging Indian brands, such as Morii – a dynamic textile brand based in Gandhinagar, Gujarat

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Celebrating local and global talent

Running from 6–9 November at the city’s lush Jio World Garden, the trade show’s inaugural edition is as much a two-way street as it is a crossroads: homegrown design manufacturers are keen to increase their exposure to a discerning international visitorship who are hungry to discover contemporary design from India and the wider region; while high-profile, long-established European and North American brands, such as VitrA, Boss Design, and De Sede, have for some years now been looking for a credible and curated physical platform that will allow them to plug into a fast-growing economy with major spending power.


‘Design Mumbai is a chance to broadcast the design wealth of this extraordinary subcontinent’


It’s little wonder then that design grandee Tom Dixon sees Design Mumbai as a much-needed correction. ‘It’s a chance to broadcast the design wealth of this extraordinary subcontinent,’ he argues. ‘India’s natural capital, vast reservoir of skills and technology, and rich history should be more widely recognised and celebrated.’

Both local brands like ESVEE Atelier (above) and international brands like VitrA (below) will showcase their creativity in Mumbai

Design Mumbai catapults India onto the global design stage | Novità

Both local brands like ESVEE Atelier (above) and international brands like VitrA (below) will showcase their creativity in Mumbai

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A meticulous selection

But with high potential come high expectations. From the outset of Design Mumbai’s genesis, its founders – a trio of entrepreneurs with a track record in launching and growing successful design events – decided on the event being 100% juried. Each and every exhibitor submission is assessed by the team for its quality, credibility and all-important authenticity. ‘The selection process,’ explains Ian Rudge, who co-founded long-running UK design exhibition 100% Design, ‘will prioritise original products designed by named designers, striking a balance between local, growing talent and well-known international brands.’

With Michael Dynan, co-founder of Design Shanghai, and designer, brand owner, event organiser and TV presenter Piyush Suri as the fellow brains behind Design Mumbai, together with financial and operational backing from the Montgomery Group, a fairs business with over 50 events in its global portfolio, it’s a collection of proven talents that bodes well for this November.

From furniture to lighting, exhibitors will unveil their latest designs and innovations. Pictured here, the Flowerpot Table Lamp by &Tradition

Design Mumbai catapults India onto the global design stage | Novità

From furniture to lighting, exhibitors will unveil their latest designs and innovations. Pictured here, the Flowerpot Table Lamp by &Tradition

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Propelling Indian brands to new heights

Local players have responded to the fair’s launch with alacrity. Andblack, the Ahmedabad-based design studio of Kanika and Jwalant Mahadevwala, both graduates of London’s Architectural Association, see themselves ‘at the threshold of going big, going international. Design Mumbai has come in at the right time for us,’ they say. For AKFD Studio, meanwhile, who work out of Jaipur, the show will be a valuable springboard. ‘After two decades of designing and manufacturing at scale, we're now taking it up a notch with a refined and more streamlined identity. Design Mumbai will be a grand stage for unveiling our evolution.’

'Design Mumbai has come in at the right time for us,’ says Kanika and Jwalant Mahadevwala from Andblack, a young design studio based in Ahmedabad

Design Mumbai catapults India onto the global design stage | Novità

'Design Mumbai has come in at the right time for us,’ says Kanika and Jwalant Mahadevwala from Andblack, a young design studio based in Ahmedabad

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Fostering connections

The value for creative professionals planning to travel to Mumbai won’t, however, just be in the familiar and emerging talent they’ll see there in furniture, lighting, kitchens and bathrooms, workplace and outdoor. It’ll also be in them being seen. For, with its programme of talks and get-togethers, the fair is eager to establish itself as the foremost networking stage for the design industry in the region, with the likes of industrial designer Michael Young, Zaha Hadid Studio and Danish designer and ceramicist Naja Utzon Popov due to attend.


‘The trade show comes at just the right time for India’s fast-paced maturing market’


Young considers India to be ‘a market of key interest for any brand right now’, while Parminder Pal Singh, co-founder of Loco Design, whose stable of brands manufactures contemporary and hand-crafted furniture and accessories, welcomes Design Mumbai’s level of ambition. ‘It comes at just the right time for India’s fast-paced maturing market,’ she says.

The design show will also be an opportunity to network with renowned names in the industry, including Zaha Hadid Studio (above) and ceramicist Naja Utzon Popov (below)

Design Mumbai catapults India onto the global design stage | Novità

The design show will also be an opportunity to network with renowned names in the industry, including Zaha Hadid Studio (above) and ceramicist Naja Utzon Popov (below)

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But, let’s be honest. These days, there’s more to visiting a physical design fair than simply the fair experience itself. As the exhibitions industry globally is forced by a new macro-economic reality and significant shifts in societal behaviour to rethink its business, the events that will stay the course are the ones that play to their host cities, encouraging their audiences to draw as much on the cultural offerings to be found outside the fairgrounds as within them.

Mumbai, as India’s spirited design, fashion and film capital, is ready to deliver.

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