There are few comforts greater than the sheer joy of sinking into sleep in the soft, silken and enveloping embrace of your bedding — curling and tumbling on the squashy sprawl of a bedspread or snuggling up in the warmth of a duvet. Maishaa, the luxury home furnishings brand, makes this comfort special. Driven by the core philosophy of promoting the concept of home as an extension of the self, the brand appeals to the modern sensibilities of those who are keen to let their lifestyle acquire a life of its own. Its range of luxury home textiles, from plush bed linens to exquisite bath and home furnishings, exude elegance and are tailormade for those living life to the hilt, with a dash of panache. Its collections accentuates the interior decor of your living space, amplify its rarefied ambiance.

The motto with which the brand was conceived — the pleasure of living can be enhanced and enlivened by a certain degree of zest and passion for life — finds manifestation in most of its collections that boast of fine fabrics, singularly exceptional designs and distinctive texture. The brand has come up with an entire gamut of its new collections that include bed sheets, pillows and pillow covers, duvets and duvet covers, cushions, bed covers, throws, curtains, upholstery, sheers, towels and wallpapers. The two Indian collections include ‘Metallica’ and ‘Essence’ — the former is a range of bed linen that is lush with lustrous patterns against immaculate white, and the latter is a range of upholstery, sheers and curtains that create a rich texture through the blend of dazzling weaves and colours.

Besides offering products from its in-house furnishings label, Maishaa also brings to its Indian clientele a selection from the best of European brands, like Nya Nordiska (Germany), Clarke & Clarke (UK), Manuel Revert (Spain) and Sketch Twenty 3 (UK). Its two new European collections are ‘Prince of Persia’ and ‘Wilderie’ — a range of furnishing fabrics by Clarke & Clarke. The first features scenes from the charming fairy-tale, bringing them alive with evocative designs; the second is inspired by nature and features animal world across continents in colourfully evocative strokes. Incidentally, the collections offered by these brands are exclusively designed for Maishaa for retail in India. ‘Metallica’ and ‘Essence’ boast of products available in cut-length and in plains, textures, velvets and plain leatherette and textured leatherette. The fabrics under ‘Metallica’ are in 100 per cent cotton with 775 thread count per 10 sqcm, which adds to both quality and comfort. The collection by Clarke & Clarke, includes a catalogue of eco-friendly fabric that is sustainable; the yarn is made from plastic bottles to reduce landfills on earth.

 

It has been a long journey for Maishaa, founded by Arun Garg in 2007. In 1999, he owned a premium furnishings brand called Magpie, which provided him a window into the nascent market of bed and bath luxury items in India. It was the time when the furnishings brands were all offering the basic stuff, hardly any was into luxury/high-end bed and bath linens. Garg would travel abroad often to buy bed and bath items from cities like London and Paris. “We used to visit fairs and exhibitions across the globe and that gave me an opportunity to study the international market. Also, since I was associated with Shoppers’ Stop and Lifestyle chains, I would also observe the products they were selling,” says Garg, who smelt the potential in the segment in India.

During one of his trips abroad when he was taking a round of an exhibition, he stumbled upon someone, who had an amazing collection of bed and bath linens. “I touched one of the bed sheets and it felt superior; I had never seen or felt something like that before,” says Garg, who connected with the owners and got into a partnership. This led to the launch of his first line of bed linens under Maishaa in 2007. “It received a fabulous response. And, within one year, we got to partner with The New York Fashion Week. For two years, we were associated with them,” says Garg. Since then, there has been no looking back. Fourteen years on, Garg says that though he feels India has still not evolved in the arena of premium bed linen, things are slowly changing. “Many people look for high quality at a cheaper price. But then there are also those who want luxury products and are willing to pay a premium price for that,” says Garg.

By 2009, Maishaa had set its feet firmly in the bed and bath linen segment. “We expanded our business into upholstery, curtains and sheers fabrics. We started importing stuff from Europe, particularly Italy. Gradually, we aligned with various mills across international destinations in Europe and Turkey. That’s how we started our textile line,” says Garg, outlining Maishaa’s milestones. Though Garg is both into design and marketing, his core competencies lie in design and aesthetics which were instrumental in making a choice to work with the best mills across the globe that could produce as per his specific standards and designs.

Today, besides Metros, Maishaa has increased its footprints in tier-two and tier-three cities, too. “People in these cities are more aspirational,” says Garg, adding that the curation of right products, with a contemporary edge, is preceded by a lot of travel and research. The two new Indian collections — ‘Metallica and ‘Essence’ are the end results of the hard work put in by designers during the lockdown. “Since early March last year, as the pandemic hit home and the country went into a lockdown, we have tried to adapt ourselves to remote working. It is slightly difficult to work virtually, making mills understand what we need through online interaction. There have been challenges this year in developing a line; there have been a lot of sampling, rejections and changes, but we are gradually learning to navigate these hiccups,” says Garg.

 

The lockdown has brought a season of loss, causing a dip in the business, but Garg says things are slowly picking up. “We have to learn to live with the pandemic for a while longer,” says Garg. Maishaa has been on a mission to adjust itself to the new normal. Rather than relying only on retails shops to sell its products, it has launched educational and outreach programmes among its core customers to help its retailers. “We have started supporting our retailers by sending out teams to introduce our products to the architects and interior designers. So, in a way, we’re trying to bring our customers to our retail shops. That’s an extra effort which we have started this year. And we are seeing the results coming in already,” says Garg.

Maishaa sells its products through premium stores in several cities across India. “Either they reach out to us or we reach out to them,” says Garg. Since several of its clients were not able to make it to the launch of its new ranges during the lockdown, the collection was showcased virtually for them. “We have sample books and sample hangers which they buy from us. Whenever a customer or an interior decorator has a requirement, they show it to them and place orders with us,” says Garg, whose eyes are all set on the road ahead. His plan is to make Maishaa the best brand in India. More collaborations are on the cards, too. “We would love to collaborate with more brands that are in demand in the international market and are yet to arrive in India. We increase our collection every year by adding different varieties — velvets, plains, textures in polyesters, etc. Every year is different,” says Garg, adding “we are always ready to meet new challenges.” 

Early in July, Maishaa unveiled the Eco Collection of fabrics by Clarke & Clarke. Manufactured entirely from recycled plastic bottles, the collection, which boasts of rustic multi coloured plain as well as soft distressed chenille, speaks to both the stylish and the environmentally conscious consumer. Sample the range of fabrics in the photographs below: 

  

(This piece was part of the April issue, which was delayed due to the pandemic and released in July)