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Indian Design

COTTON COTTAGE’S NARRATIVE ODE

TO OUR TEXTILE HERITAGE

Designed by Mumbai based design firm Matrika Design Collaborative, the space reflects the brand’s shift from a

standalone retail store to a mall environment and the store aesthetics themselves celebrate India’s rich textile legacy.

MUMBAI

T

he 14 year old handcrafted clothing
brand Cotton Cottage, which has
more than 21 outlets across the
country, has recently opened its 22nd store
in Grand Central Mall, Navi Mumbai. Spread
across 535 square feet, the new store turned
out to be a harbinger of innovation in
design and visual merchandising.

Talking about the new store, Vishwas
Khajanchi, Director, Cotton Cottage India,
says, “Cotton Cottage was always a high
sleek brand and this is the time we wanted
to enter a mall. In the mall space you need to
have a slightly different approach, wherein
you want to give it a sort of luxurious look,

but not a very high-end look. It should be

warm enough to invite everybody, but

should also give a premium feel.”

Designed by Mumbai based design firm

Matrika Design Collaborative, the key element

on the store front are the three arches which

geometrically divided the frontage into equal

viewing windows. These arches are inspired

by the temples and forts of Rajasthan and

were adapted to create a contemporary

minimalist feel. The arch has also been used

as an element to define the merchandise

display and create contemporary forms for

wall mounted mirrors and standalone vertical

display stands.

The visual plane is punctuated by the use

of handmade ropes which are slung from

the ceiling to hold the clothing below. An

installation of cotton strings and discarded

hand printing unit represent the story

of handcrafted techniques and the warp

and weft of textiles. Further, the graphic

representation of block printing and

weaving narrates the parallel story of the

origins of clothing itself.

Also, given the rich colour schemes of

Indian clothing, the design firm chose a

dark woody laminate of a unique earthy

green and deep gray ceiling. Accents of

matte gold were achieved in trims across