Glamour is the trend across the globe right now. Minimalism is on the ebb. It’s lower middle class vocabulary and is not aspirational anymore,” says ace interior designer Raseel Gujral Ansal, who recently opened her high-end furniture boutique, Paradox Black, in Bangalore. Well-known as Paradox One and Paradox Pink in Delhi and Mumbai respectively, Paradox Black is Raseel and her husband Navin Ansal’s third store celebrating luxe, opulence and fantasy. To make it simple to understand their design philosophy, flamboyant business tycoon Dr Vijay Mallya’s Mumbai home, will soon don Raseel’s furniture and accessories!
Raseel and Navin have come out with their new collection called The Opera Line. Oozing romance, glamour and sensuality, the collection is in luxurious Burma teak and boasts of rich fabrics like silk, velvet, suedes, satins, pearlised and metallic leathers. In dramatic colours like gold, black and white, one will find tables embedded with rock-like swarovski crystals, mother of pearl Mughal inlays and other jewel embellishment. Right from beds, dining tables, chest of drawers to fancy rugs — the collection speaks the language of fashion using design vocabulary.
And Bangalore was chosen as the launch city. But is the City ready for such luxury? To which Raseel says, “We have many clients from Bangalore who fly down to our Mumbai store frequently. Actually, we are following our clients. It’s in tune with our current design philosophy.”
Paradox Black also houses accessories — lamps, vases, planters, crystal-embellished cushion covers — sourced from several fairs in Europe and America. There are some pieces from their previous all-mirror collection titled Narcissus. Furniture, today is an expression of one’s lifestyle and personality and Navin only agrees. “The desire to do up homes is really high in cities like Bangalore. Aspirational value is high. Forty per cent of the income is spent on home interiors today.”
With a huge celebrity clientele to boast of, Raseel and Navin still prefer to remain discreet. “We have done a lot of homes of ministers from the South and Bollywood actors,” reveals Navin, actually a history student from Hindu College, Delhi.
Navin began his journey in 1993 with the house of Paradox on meeting Raseel, daughter of the acclaimed artist Satish Gujral. With no formal degree in interior architecture, Raseel has been practising the craft since 1986 under the aegis of her father. So how difficult or easy is it to design furniture? “It’s more difficult than designing clothes. You have to get everything correct — proportions, comfort, aesthetics and an execution that must last long. You can afford to throw your clothes at the back of your cupboard. But you cannot do that with furniture,” says Raseel.
Paradox Black, situated at 21, Wood Street, Ashok Nagar, speaks a glamourous language with a contemporary tone and is a must-try experience.