It has been a busy four years for Iqrup + Ritz, racking up clients (and magazine spreads) with twice-a-year furniture collections that meld different styles, periods, countries and inspirations. But what the contemporary décor brand lacked was a textile line — surprising considering co-founder Iqrup Dhamija is a textile connoisseur and still remembered for the fabrics she exported to Germany and Scandinavia in the ’80s and ’90s. “They were largely inspired by English chintz and Indiennes textiles, and a small part of it was also retailed locally,” recalls her daughter, and co-founder, Ritika Aiysha Dhamija.
The success of an upholstery collaboration with Safomasi in 2016 — where they created a minimal palette inspired by the accessories brand’s prints — helped them make up their minds, and late this summer, the duo launched their first range, Congo and Istanbul. With contemporary and geometric patterns that fit their clean-lines and mid-century modern furniture, the collections offer solutions for both furniture and window dressing.
Kuba contours
“Our inspirations come from the most unexpected places, from travel and afternoon walks to Instagram,” shares Ritika, adding that the 2017 exhibition, Matisse in the Studio , at London’s Royal Academy of Arts, sparked the first line. “It included an impressive group of sculptures and textiles the French artist had collected from Africa. The patterns in the Kuba textiles from Congo were beautiful and contemporary, and we picked individual motifs to work with.” The second collection owes its genesis to Iqrup’s love of ancient textiles. “Istanbul is inspired by the rich velvets of the Ottoman court, which often had local flora like pomegranates and tulips embroidered in lavish gold and silver thread. We’ve reproduced them in a fresh way,” she says.
The colour palettes have been chosen for their versatility — while Congo is fairly neutral, with shades of grey and charcoal, and hints of mustard to brighten the design, Istanbul is timeless, with its combination of red and blue. “Blue is my favourite colour, so there was no way we wouldn’t include it,” laughs Ritika.
Textile love
Mixing the old and new, classic with the modern, is what Iqrup + Ritz is known for. But why look abroad for their début range? “There are collections around Indian patterns that we want to do. This was just something we were attracted to at the moment,” she assures. While the collection is screen printed on a linen-cotton blend, they hope to start producing their own textiles. “I love the idea of developing textiles. Currently we work with a group of weavers in Kutch; we use their shawls in our upholstery. We also work with women in Nagaland for loin loom textiles.”
The mother-daughter duo also wants to collaborate with artists. “We have a very long list,” Ritika confides. “We’d love to work with contemporary artists like Hormazd Narielwalla — who uses found materials like discarded tailoring patterns to create abstract collages — and Kaveri Raina, who integrates a number of Indian textiles in her work. Internationally, there are French graphic designer Camille Walala, known for her bold Memphis-inspired designs, and American artist Wayne Pate, who creates elegant, organic forms for textiles and ceramics,” she says. With a collection a year (soon incorporating silks and velvets), they also plan to explore other types of textiles. Next up, rugs and carpets.
Available by the metre (or upholstered on their furniture), the fabrics start from ₹1,300 on iqrupandritz.com.
