The Home Soirée Goes Bigger Than Ever, With Craft Still At Its Heart

The Home Soirée recently unveiled its eighth edition—the most expansive one yet—bringing together art, fashion, jewellery, and decor. Held on August 7 and 8 at the Travancore Palace in Delhi, the curation had over 40 brands on show. For an exhibit that started as a two-brand curation (born out of a casual luncheon with a friend), it sure has come a long way! Having stemmed from art patron Nandini Singh Jabhua and brand strategist Akshat Kapoor’s shared love for art and craft, this exhibition marks a deeply personal odyssey. In a conversation with Manifest, Nandini Singh Jabhua talks about the inception of The Home Soirée, putting together this year’s showcase, the reason behind choosing the Travancore Palace as the venue, and more. 

Like all good ideas, the inception of The Home Soirée was pure serendipity. Taking us back to the time when the idea of it was conceived, Nandini recalls, “This was over a meal at Akshat's house when his mom had made some beautiful Lucknowi food. Reflecting on our common love and passion for craft, we decided to do a two-brand show, featuring my art company, Northern Art, and chikankari work from his brand, Aameen, that he has built with his mother and brother. Thus, it started from there, then grew to five brands, followed by 10, then 16, and now, we’re at over 40! It's also one-of-a-kind and thoughtfully curated, plus we have some great brands that we've handpicked as they match our ethos. 

It’s ironic that the idea was conceived at home, given that homes are the cornerstone of The Home Soirée, according to the other half behind the brand, Akshat. He shares, “What really led to us starting The Home Soirée was the sheer magic that Indian homes bring. We feel that they are the birthing ground of the knowledge that we Indians have in terms of culture, textiles, music, and our culinary traditions. All of it is  taught within the four walls of our home. We realised that Indian homes are the only place where we're exposed to any kind of culture for the first time, and therefore, it is important to celebrate what you see there. So, when you come to an exhibition like ours, you won’t see the usual commercial brands, but ones that are slightly offbeat and which are a part of our material memory. They are brands that celebrate anything that we’ve inherited from our mothers—from Banarasi and Kanjivaram saris to Ikats and Jamdanis.

This year’s exhibit was multidisciplinary in nature, bringing together art, fashion, jewellery, decor and fragrances. Reflecting on the logistical challenges of curating this show, Nandini points out, “It was difficult curating this exhibition, from coordinating with the production team to handling social media. My working style is a little different. For me, discipline is important. I was the early riser, whereas Akshat was one to work till late, so somewhere we found the balance between that. Having said that, putting together a big show where there are so many people involved was not an easy feat, but in terms of curation, I think we've killed it!. Hopefully, next year, we do better. And, what's life without a little chaos?

The choice of hosting this year’s exhibition at the Travancore Palace was also deeply profound. Explaining this choice of venue, Nandini states, “We chose Travancore Palace because of its magnificent beauty. We wanted a feeling of home as our whole concept was ‘from one home to another’. Walking through the space is like going from one living room to another. Every gallery is less like an art gallery, and more like someone's home wall space. And that's the whole concept of The Home Soirée. It should feel like going from one connection to another. That's why we chose this place as the fluidity of the place was beautiful.”

As a co-founder, Nandini also talks about her experience of curating The Home Soirée as a duo, and how she navigates through the creative differences to work towards the common goal of giving craft a platform. “We do have creative differences. I think Akshat is super rigid about his creative issues, and I try to bring a balance. But that is part and parcel of it all. For any duo that works together, the partnership is never easy. But for us, we fight, but we're also laughing in the next one minute. That's the beauty of our relationship and of us bringing our craft together. I think we work well together.”

Akshat shares a similar view. He says, “We have endless fights, we agree to disagree and we disagree to agree! But I think because Nandini and I are such great friends, and because we share such a beautiful bond, it's very easy to navigate through them. We fight, we have differences, but the larger picture is to promote craft. That's the goal, and therefore, all differences aside, we work towards the common goal of giving craft and culture the platform that it rightfully deserves.”

This year’s showcase had pretty much everything—a plethora of brands, diverse categories, an iconic venue, and even a beautiful performance on the opening day, courtesy Padma Shri Malini Awasthi. Talking about an avenue that The Home Soirée hasn’t been able to explore yet, but hopes to touch on in the future, Nandini says, “We don’t have any footwear brands as a part of the curation. I really do want to include some artisanal craft-led footwear in the future..” Akshat has his own personal take: “One thing that I've not been able to include is a live demonstration of an art form or a craft form. I would perhaps include one of my fondest memories of my childhood, knitting. I want to have a knitting corner because both my nani and dadi used to knit. And that holds a lot of nostalgia and profoundness for me”, he adds.