Raw Collaborative's Design Intelligentsia asks if inherited knowledge can evolve

As tradition finds global resonance as a dynamic, almost living phenomenon as opposed to a static, rigid framework over the past few decades, contemporary design has also turned to the venerable knowledge systems emerging from it, while seeking solutions to address some of the most pressing issues plaguing the world. Conversations and showcases worldwide are increasingly reflecting this paradigm shift as global platforms both adapt and emerge as forums for this exchange. Bringing voices from contemporary culture and artistic histories of South Asia, and specifically the Indian subcontinent, to the London Design Festival 2026 is the Ahmedabad-based multidisciplinary creative alliance, Raw Collaborative. Bringing innovations and expressions rooted in culture and memory, the collaborative platform is making its international debut with Design Intelligentsia at the House of Icon for the Shoreditch Design Week 2026 from September 15 – 17, 2026.

Founded in 2017 by design curator and strategist Tanvi Karia as a cross-disciplinary platform, Raw Collaborative aims to connect contemporary craft and material innovation across the fields of architecture, design and art. Furthering the conversation on craft revival and reinterpretation of traditional knowledge systems, Design Intelligentsia at the Shoreditch Town Hall explores the potential and possibilities that emerge when inherited knowledge is allowed to evolve with time. It reinterprets craft-led making as a dynamic system of production that continually evolves through practice and exchange. The showcase offers insightful design ideas by more than 25 independent studios, hailing from India, the UK and Europe, that focus on future-facing design innovations rooted in culture and history. The presentation, ranging from statement lighting and bespoke furniture to crafted tiles and metalwork, is the endeavour of makers from South Asia and its global diaspora.

Interweaving traditional hand skills with contemporary design aesthetics, Ahmedabad-based textile designer Noya Studio ties deep-rooted cultural themes in the 400-year-old Indian Pichhwai art to the evolving global landscape. From Mumbai, lifestyle and home decor brand Ikai Asai lends a similarly global outlook to long-standing material intelligence and craft techniques practised across India such as papier-mâché, longpi, brass work and channapatna. Delhi-based art practice MagicSimSim further expands the art of hand embroidery through their unique heirloom works that take inspiration from jewellery design.

Dwelling in natural materials and forms, Ahmedabad-based furniture manufacturer Khambatta presents its series of solid-teak furniture crafted for quiet lifestyles that focus on comfort, durability and ageing. The design expression flaunts each detail and junction as a celebration of the joints and techniques that define it.

Exploring reverence for brass and bronze for their ingrained presence in Indian craft heritage, the Gurugram-based multidisciplinary studio, Baarique, brings its works inspired by Madhubani folk art and woven in materials like the ethical Ahimsa silk. As an inquiry into the relevance of traditional weaving techniques in global design, the Hyderabad-based The Wicker Story presents its series of sculptural design works that leverage digital and computational processes to adapt old techniques for new functions. A fellow neighbouring design studio from Hyderabad, Intent Made, presents a series of custom furniture that relies on craft and natural materials to mediate the idea of sculpture and utility.

Resisting a world defined by excessive consumption, the eponymous studio of artist Arrti Mansinghka is showcasing a series of artworks created specifically with discarded textiles. The process involves collecting the material and carefully observing the traces of time—the softening of the fabric and markings of use—and sorting it through memory and meaning before its translation into artistic inquiries.

The London-based Peel Studio presents a showcase of bespoke textile works crafted using dyes and biomaterials extracted from kitchen waste. Harnessing craft as a medium for furthering ecological responsibility in design, the Indian artistic conglomerate, Takshini, brings its material-driven artistic collection that reintroduces ecological systems as living networks involving both humans and nature.

Olie, a Bangalore-based lighting design studio, presents its sculptural works exploring illumination as a medium of spatial transformation. Inspired by ephemeral natural phenomena, the display comprises different bodies of work, each employing a distinct expression in textile, metal and clay. UK-based Vallari Harshwal Studio also brings its series of sculptural lights that feature clay for its opacity and definitive mouldability.

The expansive showcase at Design Intelligensia also includes Indian native studios such as Falcon Cloak Design, Padme Hum Studio, Chars Diwari, Radha Patel’s, Studio Maatimania and Umneni; UK-based Chissock Woodcraft, Linda Bloomfield, Majeda Clarke, Rachna Garodia, Rajvi Amrelia, Sharol Ahluwalia and Studio Nikasan; Latika Nehra from Germany and Neha Lad Studio based in Paris.

The showcase by Raw Collaborative at Shoreditch Design Week strives to contribute South Asian perspectives to a critical global discourse. Probing the emergence of design through the commons—shared knowledge, cultural memories and collaborative making—the showcase positions Indian design within these global conversations, highlighting the living histories inherent in its structures and frameworks. As these rare craft systems are reimagined through a contemporary lens, what remains to be seen are the responses and the emergent evolutions of these systems once sensitised through such global forums.