Interview with Krsnaa Mehta: Ringmaster of the India Circus

It’s all about how well a print can travel on to different products, says Krsnaa Mehta on the ethos of his brand, ahead of his store launch in Chennai
Krsnaa_Mehta_1
Krsnaa_Mehta_1

WHEN grey clouds overcast Mumbai in 2017, Krsnaa Mehta created a vibrant space with trademark Mughal motifs, bright patterns and pops of colour at India Circus’ first flagship store in Kala Ghoda. Now just a year later, he continues his tryst with Indian contemporary décor and brings this to life in Chennai, with his second brick-and-mortar store opening at Palladium Mall, Chennai.


“Yes we are launching in Chennai before Bengaluru, but lucky Chennai!” Krsnaa laughs over a phone call from Mumbai, and informs us that the city actually has the third biggest market for his online products. “We are carrying forward our design ethos from the Mumbai store, so I knew what kind of aesthetics I wanted from the space.” Along with him comes his entire product assortment, along with a newly-launched wallpaper collection.

While his family business was that of exporting textiles and rugs, under the brand name Zeba, Krsnaa  studied Surface Design at Parsons and Display Graphics at Fashion Institute of Technology, New York. India Circus came to life in 2012, and with it came a gamut of eclectic prints and patterns, juxtaposed on to a variety of products, including pens, potted plant holders and entire wallpapers. “It’s all about how well a print can travel onto different products,” he says, adding that this is exactly how they maintain their signature style. “An eclectic look creeps in but there is a balance. As a fast fashion company, we don’t have seasons or rigid timelines. We release something new every week so there is always something to look forward to on the website, but with uniformity.”


It is no secret that fast fashion is the third most polluting industry globally, but Krsnaa is one step ahead. “We are a very eco-friendly brand. None of our packaging has any plastic at the store-level, and we take good care to recycle everything,” he informs. “Certain textiles have blended cotton, but it is globally acceptable and necessary to keep the price and quality in check.”


Priding themselves on providing great design and quality at a great price, India Circus pays a lot of attention to both creativity and commerce. “I make sure both of them work in conjunction, and am not in the business of being a fine artist. We are in the business of sales, and pleasing an audience. If a creative direction is not translating to anything, it’s killed,” he avers.

In a country where art and furniture are largely seen as investment pieces, not to be changed on a seasonal basis, Krsnaa Mehta makes it easy for us to switch it up with basic pieces. “Keep things fresh by changing accessories, like cushions and runners,” he smiles, and shocks us with a design mistake we could be making. “A huge misnomer in Indian homes is that everything needs to be white. White walls actually make the space look tighter as opposed to a deeper colour.”

With the design philosophy of “Taking Indian contemporary to the world,” Krsnaa Mehta is slowly taking over both the online market-space, and India, one 
flagship store at a time.  

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