India Design ID Mumbai returns from September 26-28, 2025, at Jio World Garden, BKC, showcasing the confluence of heritage, innovation, and contemporary creativity under the compelling theme of “The Age of Design Syncretism.”
India Design ID (ID) Mumbai 2025 marks a significant moment in the country’s design calendar, as the second edition of this prestigious event transforms Mumbai into a global design hub. Recognized as India’s most definitive design week, this three-day celebration brings together over 120 leading brands from across the globe, creating an immersive experience that bridges traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge innovation.
The Philosophy of Design Syncretism
This year’s curatorial theme, “The Age of Design Syncretism,” embodies a fundamental shift in how contemporary Indian design positions itself within global conversations. As Fair Director Misha Bains explains, the theme explores how diverse elements, reality, and craft converge to weave a new design language, celebrating the confluence of design, culture, and craft.
The concept of design syncretism positions creativity as a site of cultural negotiation and adaptation, where global influences collide and coalesce to generate hybridity that challenges traditional categorizations. This approach embraces the blending of craft with technology, folklore with futurism, and artisanal heritage with industrial precision, creating design that defies binary classifications such as art versus craft, East versus West, and traditional versus modern.
ID Exhibit: The Heart of Innovation
The centerpiece ID Exhibit showcases an extraordinary array of luxury brands across multiple segments. The Editions section features the latest collections from international design leaders across furniture, lighting, kitchen, bath, and décor. The Design segment highlights “Indian Craft Stories” brought to life through innovative materials and modern design sensibilities, while The New Guard spotlights young, next-generation design studios shaping India’s design future.
Notable exhibitors include Asian Paints, Kohler, Sources Unlimited, Beautiful Homes with Asian Paints, Studio ABACA, FUTURA X Sans Souci, Emery Studio, FabriCare by D’Decor, Alex Davis Studio, and Eikowa Studio. International brands such as Scarlet Splendour, Atelier Ashiesh Shah, Pinakin Studio, Gulmohar Lane, Ravi Vazirani Design Studio, Temple Town, and Jaipur Rugs complete the diverse showcase.
Designs by Alex Davis Studio & Abner lighting
ID Symposium: Global Design Discourse
The ID Symposium serves as a global forum for design-forward discourse, bringing together over 30 leading architects, designers, and creative leaders. Through solo talks, interactive dialogues, and panel discussions, diverse voices share insights into emerging ideas, latest design trends, and industry experiences.
The symposium’s programming focuses on dialectic themes such as craftsmanship and technology, conservation and legacy, local and global, and memory and future. International voices include Ricardo Bofill of Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, carrying forward his firm’s postmodern legacy, and Valérie Maltaverne, founder of YMER & MALTA, Paris. Other notable speakers include Nuru Karim (founder of NUDES), Vikas Dilawari, Rooshad Shroff, Kohelika Kohli, PK Das, Anuradha Parikh, Sonali Rastogi, Ruchika Sachdeva, and Rajiv Parekh.
NEO DECO: Art Deco Centenary Celebration
A standout feature of ID Mumbai 2025 is the NEO DECO special project, curated by Misha Bains, which commemorates the centenary of the Art Deco movement. This gallery-like exhibition showcases over 40 never-before-seen contemporary objets d’art from leading Indian and international ateliers, reimagining classic Deco motifs, bold geometries, and rich materials through a distinctly modern lens.
The exhibition represents a vibrant conversation between eras, marking the centenary of Art Deco in Mumbai—a city that houses one of the world’s largest collections of Art Deco architecture. The project invites designers to re-imagine the Art Deco style while keeping modern forms in mind, creating pieces that embody the movement’s essence while avoiding pastiche.
Among the featured works is the Maske Console by Puru Das of DeMuro Das, which embodies Art Deco’s bold geometry and theatrical qualities through its hand-textured bronze base. The installation is complemented by works from various contemporary designers who have reinterpreted the iconic style for the 21st century.
Syncretic Threads: Textile Narratives
The Syncretic Threads installation represents another significant special project, featuring textile-led installations by six designers and ateliers. This experiential showcase highlights storytelling through textiles, layering identities, techniques, and traditions to illustrate design as a site of ongoing cultural dialogue.
The project explores how textiles serve as vessels for cultural memory and contemporary expression, demonstrating the syncretic nature of Indian design where traditional techniques meet modern aesthetics.
ID Collectible: Contemporary Design Art
The ID Collectible segment focuses on contemporary collectible design, presenting high-quality, unique objects at the intersection of design, architecture, and art. This curated selection showcases pieces that transcend functional design to become collectible art objects, representing the evolution of Indian design toward luxury and exclusivity.
This edition places special emphasis on Mumbai-centric sessions, most evident in conversations about Mumbai Deco and the city’s architectural heritage. The programming includes discussions on the preservation and restoration of Mumbai’s iconic Art Deco structures, featuring voices like Atul Kumar (founder of Art Deco Mumbai), architects Vikas Dilawari, and Aahana Miller.
The focus on Mumbai’s design heritage is timely, as 2025 marks the centenary of the Art Deco movement, and the city’s Marine Drive, Churchgate, and Shivaji Park neighborhoods represent some of the world’s best-preserved Deco districts.
India Design ID Mumbai 2025 positions itself within a broader global context of design innovation and cultural exchange. The event celebrates not just Indian design but the international dialogue that shapes contemporary creativity. By bringing together global brands and local artisans, international speakers and Indian thought leaders, the fair demonstrates how design transcends geographical boundaries while remaining rooted in local culture.
India Design ID Mumbai 2025 runs from September 26-28, 2025, at Jio World Garden, BKC, Mumbai, with daily hours from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Tickets start from ₹1,500 and are available through BookMyShow and the official India Design ID website. The event promises to be an unmissable celebration of design innovation, cultural heritage, and creative excellence that will define the future trajectory of Indian design on the global stage.
Cover Image Courtesy: Maison Sia
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