Raw Mango

Long regarded as a city where art, politics, literature and design run through its very bylanes, Kolkata offers a natural extension of Raw Mango’s store after its flagship entry in Delhi. In the Ballygunge area, housed within an early 20th-century Art Deco building, the store’s appearance is rooted in Kolkata’s architectural memory while being gently rearticulated for the present—details that quickly recall when the city began transitioning away from ornate colonial styles towards cleaner, functional forms. Even inside sculptural elements created in collaboration with artisans known for Durga Puja installations further root the space within Kolkata’s visual and cultural memory. As one approaches the symmetrical, sun-washed white façade of Raw Mango, light and shadow take centre stage, while subtle Art Deco notes appear in the stepped parapet, linear grooves, and curved balcony edges. Wooden shutters add warmth and texture, contrasting with the minimal plastered surface. Here, the brand’s vocabulary unfolds not just through sarees and garments, but through intentionally crafted ‘pauses’ such as objects and spaces that move beyond the intention of a ‘transaction’. Conceived as an adda, the 4,800-square-foot building’s original asymmetries haven’t been concealed; instead, they are embraced. Floors, furniture, and lighting follow the structure’s inherent geometry, allowing the space to reveal itself gradually. This quite resistance to polish or ornate-ness mirrors the handloom itself, where plurality, imperfection, and variation are intrinsic to the craft. The interiors allow textiles to take precedence with garments housed in muslin-lined almirahs alongside carefully placed antiques. The absence of mannequins, posters, or overt branding allows the garments to exist without prescription, encouraging personal interpretation.  The attention paid to every corner of the store—down to the switchboards, hangers, fixtures, and furniture, all designed in-house—signals a shift in how brands approach retail today. Storytelling is no longer confined to products alone; it is embedded into the very infrastructure of the space, allowing visitors to intuitively grasp the DNA of what they are buying. In this model, time spent within the store matters as much as money spent. Moreover, having built a strong identity over the year, the label finds a common ground with the city’s lived memoir, shaping its physical presence in resonance with them.