The Itihāas Company founder Devika Kanadé.
Devika Kanadé is passionate about the “story” in history, especially as it applies to textiles and trims. She wraps her customers in a swath of plush velvet with twisted fringe, celebrating intricate details and embellishments rooted in decorating history from centuries back.
Her maiden launch of The Itihāas Company’s “maximalist” home collection (the antithesis to spare minimalism), now shipping to the U.S., showcases small-batch furnishings tailormade in India (really tailormade, by two tailors) under Kanadé’s close eye.
“People are into minimalism. That’s fine. But I hate just the bare necessities. And I’ve never seen an historic home that is minimally designed.,” she said on a call from her home in India.
The two-sided velvet fringe throws – such as the Bion Bengal pictured above, featuring colors from the Byzantine period – are nearly six feet long (so tall people can get cozy, too). The designer uses the throws to create dramatic tablescapes as well.
Kanadé was born and raised in Bombay (the history lover can’t help but use the name that predated Mumbai). After internships at Hello!, Condé Nast Traveler, and Vogue, she was accepted into the select Costume Studies master’s program at NYU. All the while, as she set up house from India to London, Los Angeles, and New York, she layered art, textiles, and thrifted objects for a welcoming feel.
Itihāas comes from Itihasa, Sanskrit for history. For Hindus, an Itihasa is a story that tells about what happened in the past, often in an epic poem. This boutique brand was inspired by an important piece of history that the designer’s mother found when antique hunting. It is a treasure for her daughter: A timeworn copy of The Grammar of Ornament, the 1856 design masterpiece by Owen Jones, the British visionary who was instrumental to color and pattern theories.
The company is committed to sustainability. “The cotton filling is grown on trees in India and harvested four times a year,” says Kanadé. “I literally hand-stuff these cushions myself.”
To talk with the designer is to have a flashing thought of young Coco Chanel at the start of her career, one woman designing hats in Paris. How long will this designer hand-stuff the cushions? How long until the brand takes off on social media?
It’s a storied journey worth following.
Photos courtesy of The Itihāas Company.
Like what you see? Get it first with a subscription to aspire design and home magazine.