Vikram Goyal: The designer who's turning brass into gold
The product designer, who just made his debut at Design Miami/Paris, discusses his interest in brass and local craftsmanship, and selling without a retail space
"What do you think?" asks Vikram Goyal, one of India’s leading product designers, showing me his latest work on an iPad. We are in his study at his home in a quiet south Delhi neighbourhood, surrounded by family photos, an M.F. Husain painting, framed sketches picked up from his travels, furniture upholstered with ceremonial textiles made for the Bhutanese royal family, and books on design, economics and history.
On the iPad screen is Karabha, a baby elephant sitting at ease with a playful glint in its eyes—a three-dimensional sculpture made in brass, a metal that’s become synonymous with Goyal’s work, which includes furniture, lighting and design objects. Three slides later is the twist: Karabha’s butt has a secret compartment, inside which lies an image that tells a tale from the Panchatantra, called The Mice and the Elephants. The story is of how kindness begets kindness, told through a sheet of brass hammered from the reverse side for weeks—a metalworking technique known as repoussé.
“This 3D work has been completely out of my comfort zone," says Goyal, 60. “We have done 10ft (wall panels), 2D animals, birds, but this is absolutely new to me… to get the expressions right, the body right, the structure right."
Karabha is one of the five animal sculptures Goyal, along with his team of 200-odd artisans, has developed over a span of six months as part of Vikram Goyal Studio’s latest project, The Soul Garden. Each animal represents a certain quality and carries a Panchatantra fable, rendered in repoussage. All five are on display till 26 October inside the gardens of L’Hôtel de Maisons, once the Paris home of Karl Lagerfeld, as part of Goyal’s debut showcase at Design Miami/Paris, the European edition of the collectible design fair.
“I did animals because we Indians revere them, and I wanted to take that belief to the world," says Goyal. “Now the normal thing would have been to illustrate the Panchatantra on the surface of the animals, but that’s not a very international language; it would have been too decorative. I also didn’t want to create hollow sculptures; I wanted to include the tales, since they are part of our folklore. So, they (the tales) are hidden, like how Indian palaces have secret compartments... global and also India-first."
This singular ambition has been central to Goyal’s work since 2004 when he first established his design studio with one craftsperson well versed in brass and repoussé work, a traditional skill once widely practised in India.
Today, his karkhana, as he likes to refer to his factory in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, has 230 artisans, creating products that, in a country obsessed with gold, have elevated a traditional material like brass to covetable status.
His installations, some towering at 28ft to document the Silk Route using semi precious stones, have found homes in Middle East palaces. Many panels adorn the lobbies of corporate offices and private residences in India, the US and Europe. Furniture, including coffee tables carved like the wood of a mangrove tree and mirrors framed with cascading mountains, embellish luxury yachts. Each piece is one of a kind and meant for those who don’t mind spending a few lakhs to add a bit of Baroque glamour to their world.
Last year, Goyal launched his sub-brand, Viya, selling everything from Paigah jaali-like wall sconces ( ₹60,000) to table cloths (starting ₹2,000), to customers who want to spend just a little extra on their homes. He’s scouting for a location for Viya’s first retail store.
“Three years ago, we had 120 karigars–it’s been the biggest jump so far," offers Goyal as an indication to reflect the brand’s growth. He isn’t willing to share revenue numbers but says: “Between last year and this year, we will hopefully double our business."
The Indian furniture and decor market is currently valued close to $30 billion and is projected to reach $40 billion by 2030, shows a report by Mordor Intelligence, a market research company. Increasing spending power, urban migration and quick e-commerce are among the drivers for growth. Within this furniture and decor space is the emergence of a relatively new, niche luxury category: collectible design, limited-edition pieces that have a historical or aesthetical interest and blur the line between art and utility.
Goyal has created a space for himself in the collectible design space, alongside a few other designers, including Gunjan Gupta, Rooshad Shroff and Ashiesh Shah. It’s not a crowded category, leaving ample scope for growth. More so for Goyal, since he’s the only designer experimenting extensively with one metal, brass.
That explains, to an extent, the international recognition that has come his way in the past few years. In 2023, he became the first Indian designer to debut at Nina Yashar’s famed gallery in Milan, known for its ability to anticipate design trends. Last year, he was signed on to be represented by the Los Angeles gallery Future Perfect. Both moves have helped him grow despite the Vikram Goyal Studio having not a single retail space.
His regular participation in India Art Fair, Milan Design Week and PAD London have helped grow the brand’s visibility. So has being a patron of the conservation charity Elephant Family and The Great Elephant Migration, supported by the UK royal family’s King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Some of his wallpapers, designed in collaboration with British luxury interiors company de Gournay, became the background of Tarun Tahiliani’s couture show in Delhi this July, showcasing how his work has moved beyond the realm of just home or office décor.
What also makes Goyal stand out is his ability to bring functionality to all things décor. Karabha, for example, is also a bench. Vyaghra: The Tiger, a console. “Of course, we have repoussé panels that are more artistic, but everything has some utility," says Goyal. “Why would you want your table to look like a table? It’s also keeping in line with what’s happening internationally. There’s great appreciation of collectible design. By adding functionality to a piece of art you elevate someone’s experience or their form of living; it becomes a sound investment."
Goyal excels at mining India’s heritage for inspiration while creating a contemporary visual language. “India has a long history of vessels, sculptures and decorative items made in brass," says Goyal, who’s studied chemical engineering and has a degree in development economics from US’ Princeton University. “It’s also the only metal which allows you to experiment so much and it helps that I understand chemicals and metals. Copper and bronze are very limiting. Silver is very expensive. There’s nothing like brass, really. I always wanted it to be elevated and recognised again for what it’s worth."
Goyal is not formally trained as a designer. After working for six years with investment bank Morgan Stanley in the US and Hong Kong, he returned to India in 2000 to do “something with India’s cultural heritage". Two years later, he co-founded Ayurveda-inspired skincare brand Kama Ayurveda, only to exit it so he could set up his design label in 2004.
“I was always surrounded by art at our home and my grandparents’ home in Rajasthan," recalls Goyal. “My mom was a homemaker but as a side thing she used to make silver frames using repoussé and sell them in Jaipur. So, I always wanted to create something. And in India you have the confidence to create because everyone can be a designer. It’s in our DNA."
Goyal’s two decades-long journey reflects the evolution of the India design story. When he started, he struggled with selling his work. It was a time when the market had only a handful of popular brands like Good Earth and Fabindia. “Indians didn’t want to buy Indian; design-wise it was too ‘ethnic’," says Goyal. “The wealthy were mostly relying on architects who focused on Italian or French names. Now, of course, everyone wants to show they are India-proud." More than 80% of Goyal’s global clients are architects and interior designers.
Over the years, there have been several instances when Goyal’s business numbers weren’t encouraging. One instance he recalls was almost 10 years ago, during demonetisation. “I was working on several big projects and suddenly everything fell apart. I didn’t know what to do," he says. Without offering much explanation, he says, “The thing about when you’ve lived many years and seen all kinds of things is that you weather a lot and you’re able to take most things with some element of philosophy. I stayed and continued to play along."
Another turning point came during covid when he realised his brand’s potential to grow beyond India. “The kind of interest they (international clients) showed and the questions they asked made me understand what I, as a designer, as an entrepreneur, could do," he says. “In India, we don’t really have enough infrastructure for designers; I can say this for myself that it’s taken the West’s gaze to realise our own potential."
His suggestion to crack the international market? It’s what any business book would say: quality and design, intended for the right audience. For the international clients, Goyal keeps his designs not too decorative. “All our deities are decorative but they are for people here. If you want to be international, then you’ve got to speak the international language while keeping your own country in mind. You can’t make everything clean, sober. What’s your USP then?"
Besides growing the business, the other thing on Goyal’s mind is his legacy. “We have great designers with us who I know will keep the brand ethos alive. The larger vision is to move the needle for Indian craft and design and showcase it in the most intelligent way internationally," he says. The other important task on his to-do list is to increase the number of artisans to his studio. “They (the artisans) have been fantastic. Can you imagine sitting the whole day, hammering something from the back and only being able to see what you’ve made in front in totality after about a month? It’s only their hands and breathwork. There’s so much to do with brass and I feel we are just getting started."
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