Ashiesh Shah has built his practice around wabi-sabi, the Japanese philosophy and aesthetic rooted in the idea that beauty lives in what is imperfect and unfinished. He’s trained at the Parsons School of Design in New York City and his client list includes some of Bollywood’s biggest names, but when asked what work he is proudest of, he points to Taamr, the collection that took him to the Carpenters Workshop Gallery in London, where his first solo collection is on view till September 20, 2026. “[Taamr] allowed me to take something deeply Indian, our material culture, our craft traditions, the knowledge of the karigar, and place it within a global contemporary design conversation,” he says.
The belief that Indian craft can hold its own on a global stage without diluting itself is also how he sees India’s place in the wider luxury conversation. “We need to stop defining luxury through excess,” he says, adding, “The opportunity now is to build an Indian language of luxury rather than borrow someone else’s.” His design mantra is simple: “Keep moving,” he says, adding, “Never become too comfortable with what you have already achieved. The moment you think you have figured it out, you have stopped growing.” Outside his atelier, Shah has curated exhibitions including D/code and Sustain: The Craft Idiom, served on design juries, and written extensively on interiors and art. When asked what separates the brands he admires—Hermès, Loewe, Bottega Veneta, Jil Sander—from the rest, he speaks of conviction. “They are not chasing luxury,” he says, adding, “They have built their own definition of it—that is ultimately what makes a brand endure.”