India hosts one of the youngest population demographics, in an increasingly aging world. By 2022, the median age of India is said to dip to 28 years old. The growth and search for modernized ideals and international trends is rapidly percolating through the affluent members of this generation. Hence, in India, the wedding industry is at an ever-increasing rise, springing up a metamorphosis in the rituals, traditions and clothing for these very occasions.

Astha Narang is one of the young bridal wear designers catering to the big fat Indian weddings in India and internationally. Her clothes are a subtle interpretation of the traditionally heavy Indian bridal wear, for the modern brides. Hence, Portal 92 intent was to represent and amalgamate this shifting cultural landscape into the design. 

To achieve this balance, Portal 92 decided to create a clean backdrop for the designer’s clothes, along with some traditional details woven seamlessly into the furniture and partition screens. The space allows users to experience various zones within the studio but with similar underlying values, stitching together the “personality” of the space.

The introduction of an inward curve layering the entrance, punctuated by a wooden column, works to creates a mystery to the space. The journey unfolds as a sort of “rite of passage” for the experience ahead, in the space and metaphorically. Plantation, natural light and textures work towards blurring the boundaries between what we perceive as indoor and outdoor treatment.

As the user enters the indoor space, a skylight puncturing the existing shed roof, bathing the space with natural light works to anchor the attention immediately towards the central reception zone. The reception table was nestled between natural textures and plantation. Series of wooden posts act as screens, flanking the entrance, among other areas.Each stroke/detail was carefully manipulated to preserve and reform traditional ideals with modern values.