Aaquib Wani: A Good Set Is One That Expands The World The Designer Is Creating

Last Updated:July 30, 2025, 11:06 IST

Terracotta Horses, Red Neon Script: Aaquib Wani Tells The Story Behind Ritu Kumar’s Set Design at Hyundai India Couture Week

Ritu Kumar closed Day 5 of Hyundai India Couture Week, honouring five decades of the brand’s legacy. Joining in the celebrations was art director Aaquib Wani, who worked closely with Ritu Kumar’s son Amrish Kumar, to create a world surrounded by culture and imagination.

The larger-than-life set design for the showcase played the perfect canvas for Ritu Kumar’s Threads of Time: Reimagined collection. Aaquib Wani, the artist behind the iconic Indian Cricket Team jerseys, shares with News18 the vision for Ritu Kumar’s set design, the story behind the Ayyanar terracotta horses and the fictional neon script on the backdrop and the importance of a good set that helps expand the world the fashion designer is creating.

What was the vision for the set design for Ritu Kumar’s showcase?

The vision was to create a space that felt like walking into a forgotten memory, part mythology and part invention. We weren’t interested in a literal narrative. The idea was to evoke something timeless, something that felt sacred but also surreal. The Ayyanar terracotta horses gave us that rooted cultural energy. To balance that, we created a fictional neon script that felt like a language from another time. We built the entire typeface in-house and called it the RKumara Script. We even turned it into a functional font that could be typed with, built to work like any other digital typeface once installed. Together, these elements helped us build a world that felt suspended between history and imagination.

Describe the props and backdrop designed for the showcase.

We used just two elements for the entire setup, the terracotta horses and the red neon script. The horses were large, sculpted pieces inspired by Ayyanar traditions, placed across the runway to create presence without blocking movement. They were made in a way that felt true to the craft but scaled up for the space. The backdrop was a long stretch of glowing red script we designed in-house. It ran clean across the background and framed the show without distracting from the clothes. The idea was to keep the setup minimal but strong enough to hold the energy of the collection.

How long did it take to create the backdrop and the horses?

Close to a month. Designing the typeface took time because it wasn’t just calligraphy, it had to function as a full character set. The layout and scale had to work across the space while still feeling immersive and poetic. The horses took their own time. Sculpting at that size while still keeping the handmade quality intact meant we had to get the right artisans involved.

What’s the story behind the script and what do the words mean?

The RKumara script didn’t mean anything in a conventional sense. That was the point. We weren’t trying to communicate information, we were creating a feeling. The script was designed to sit somewhere between memory and myth. It hints at language, at history, but it stays open-ended. It doesn’t ask to be read, it asks to be felt. It became this silent thread connecting the past to a speculative future.

Should the set decor stand out or blend in at a fashion showcase?

It should support the story being told. Sometimes that means being bold, sometimes that means disappearing. But either way, it has to feel intentional. For me, a good set is one that expands the world the designer is creating. It’s not background, it’s context. In this case, the clothes had a quiet strength, and the set needed to hold that without overpowering it. So we created something that could exist in parallel, visually strong, but in sync.

How was the experience working with Ritu Kumar for this showcase?

We worked with Amrish Kumar, who is Ritu Kumar’s son and now the Managing Director of the brand Ritu Kumar on this, and the collaboration was sharp and focused. He had the initial concept, and we built the visual world around it. There was a lot of clarity in what we were trying to say, no over-explaining, no dressing things up. The response was instant. After the show, people were taking photos with the horses and the glowing script wall. That kind of post-show engagement is rare and says a lot. When people want to hold on to a piece of the set, you know it is connected.

Akshata Shetty

Completing almost two decades in journalism, Akshata Shetty’s journey from print to online journalism is a celebration of fashion, art and music. Akshata’s fashion stories are about the people who celebrate the…Read More

Completing almost two decades in journalism, Akshata Shetty’s journey from print to online journalism is a celebration of fashion, art and music. Akshata’s fashion stories are about the people who celebrate the… Read More

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