Designer Devanshi Jain's sanctuary for slowness, strangeness, and storytelling
The 1,500 sq ft space, originally built by her grandfather in the 1970s and left untouched for decades, now forms the heart of her slow, experimental practice
Designer Devanshi Jain’s newly unveiled studio in New Delhi's Dera Mandi isn’t just a place of work — it’s a living sculpture nestled deep in a private forest.
“I chose to build here rather than in a conventional industrial zone because I wanted the surroundings to echo the ethos of the work: offbeat, thoughtful, and deeply site-responsive,” she says.
The 1,500 sq ft space, originally built by her grandfather in the 1970s and left untouched for decades, now forms the heart of her slow, experimental practice.
After earning a BFA in Integrated Design from Parsons in New York — where she first encountered biofabrication “not as a trend, but as a way to build differently” — and a diploma in shoe design from Milan’s Istituto di Moda Burgo, Jain was recruited by houses like Prada and Tom Ford while still a student. But she had other plans: “I knew I wanted to create something slower, something stranger.”
The pandemic unexpectedly brought her back to India. “It was a difficult return, but it offered stillness — space to reflect, reimagine, and begin shaping what would become my label,” she says.
Launched in 2020, her brand now blurs the lines between fashion, art, and living systems — each piece born of material exploration and deep intentionality.
The interiors of her studio are wrapped entirely in grey — floor, walls, and ceiling — creating a unified, contemplative shell. “I wanted the studio to feel elemental. Pared down to its bones. Distraction-free, something that doesn’t impose,” she explains.
“There’s a surrealism to the consistency, a kind of soft futurism that holds its own against the wilderness outside," she adds.
Designed in collaboration with her sister and architect Devanshi Jain and friend Diya Sachdev, the studio avoids rigid structure. Rose and lotus silk curtains divide the space into fluid zones — for biofabrication experiments, sculpting sessions, fittings, and writing. “The layout stays fluid, shifting with the needs of the work.”
One of her favourite corners? “Definitely the plunge pool desk,” she smiles. “It’s literally a desk built inside a micro plunge pool. I’m infamously known for taking forever in the bathroom — it’s the one place I’m truly offline and undisturbed. So when we were designing the studio, I thought, why not bring that in?”
The studio also doubles as a gallery and experimental retail space, where installations, screenings, and chapter previews unfold. “I think of it not as a workspace, but as a world. We host slower-paced encounters here — visitors say it feels like stepping into another realm.”
For her, sustainability is built into the very bones of the space. “It’s not a checkbox — it’s about being intentional in what we make and how,” Jain says.
She also has plans to expand and make it into a café, which is part of a larger vision. She shares, "Food, like objects, carries care, intention, and story. We’re crafting a plant-based, solar-cooked menu served on eco-conscious tableware made in collaboration with material innovators from Egypt to Mexico."
