Ambani Wedding – An Ostentatious Display of Wealth
An Interior Designer’s Perspective
Be the change you want to see in the world ~Mahatma Gandhi
Recently Ambani’s (touted as India’s richest) concluded what is called the wedding of the century while the wedding was drool-worthy in terms of its scale and pomp, it did hold some fodder for critique, at least from an Interior Designer’s point-of-view, here’s what we found skewed and why.
Vulgar display of opulence
Too Much – There is an argument to be made that this sheer extravagance verges on excess, smooth sailing over the intimate and personal in favour of glitz. From our perspective as an interior design studio, we feel that we should not go overboard just because the client has the money to do it all ..Balance is the key in designing.
Too Much to See- While the grandeur of ornate corbels, delicate stars and bold hues may be lovely for some guests others might feel it was little too over-the-top and wasteful .According to us, design should be such that one remembers the key element of the design . There has to be one statement piece but here the attempt was to create all elements into statement pieces and the overall look got mixed up! .
Given the plethora of different elements, it seemed like there wasn’t a clear theme tying all the design together. While the main theme at the wedding was “An ode to Banaras” which had a very Indian feel with elements like the Banarasi lassi and chaat shops but then there was also a palace that was created to give it a regal look, straight out of fairy tales , which was basically confusing, as to what Story designers were wanting to tell was not clear.
Functionality Issues The entire extravaganza was so much about the opulence and grandness that some of the functional elements seemed to be overlooked. The crowd movement and management was ignored and there were spaces which looked empty and then there were others which were overflowing with guests.The design did not take into the account accessibility for all guests especially the disabled ones. A good design has a great balance between functionality and design.
Designers created extravagant pandal decorated with ornate flowers but they seem to overlook their responsibility to create sustainable spaces. Huge logistics and transportation of goods are involved for such large scale events which unfortunately adds to the carbon foot print and is not good for the environment.
One of the most important things that interior designers care about is about creating experiences which are subtle yet very personal. Weddings are supposed to be the most memorable event not just for the couple, family but for everyone attending it and adding personal touch making it intimate and special is key to create happy moments for all guests but here due to enormity of the occasion, there was lack of personal touch, the wedding was actually about the display of wealth of Ambani and only about them .
What we learnt as designers was that, interior designers can strive to balance opulence with functionality, cultural sensitivity, sustainability, and personal touches, ensuring that their designs are not only visually stunning but also meaningful and responsible.
If you are passionate not just about luxury spaces but creating luxury experiences with careful deliberation on good designing whether in Dubai or Singapore..Look no further
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Email: nidhi@nidhijainassociates.com