#OnTheCover: Young, vivacious and driven, Noorein Kapoor and Kumpal Vaid navigate the realm of design with equal panache and vigour

“Noorein is the drama; and I am the queen!” says Kumpal Vaid as she sets the tone for the conversation. Kumpal is restrained, Noorein is tenacious. Kumpal’s approach to spaces is subtle yet impactful, Noorein’s style is bold yet warm. Kumpal aces her neutrals, while Noorein is known for her audacious ways with colour and patterns. What’s evident though is their passion for design, and their drive to carve a niche in the industry. Both their practices—Kumpal’s firm Purple Backyard, and Noorein’s eponymous practice, Noorein Kapoor Design—are a little over a decade in the industry.

In a short span of time, they have created a distinct identity for themselves. In a first of sorts, we bring together two contemporaries and friends to discuss and engage in a dialogue about how they navigated the business of design, about shattering the glass ceiling, and how the design industry has evolved from being a man’s world, to a more gender-neutral universe.

An ideology Kumpal lives by is one of “constant learning and unlearning”. As the founder at Purple Backyard, her vision is to evolve through design while exploring sustainable solutions to execute them. Her fascination of minimal layering coupled with a play of refreshing materials has resulted in the creation of a unique identity of art that is visible in all her creations. Noorein Kapoor is a psychology and interior design graduate from Rachana Sansad School of Design.

Her spaces are characterised by a strong element of storytelling. Her intrinsic understanding of psychology ensures that her spaces are reflective of her clients’ personality. A sensitive juxtaposition of complex simplicity and serene sophistication, through her spaces she creates a lucid design narrative. From her sensitive re-imagination of the Ambrai Restaurant in Udaipur that celebrates the artistic heritage of the city of Udaipur, to her thoughtful rendition of contemporary spaces that create magic with colours, textures and patterns, Noorein is certainly a force to reckon with.

Although divergent, their meandering journeys seemed to meet and overlap at many junctures, creating an interesting synergy of sorts between the two designers. Here’s an excerpt of the conversation.

The Initiation into the World of Design

Seema Sreedharan (SS): Both your journeys have so many parallels. You both studied at Rachna Sansad. You started your solo practices around the same time. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that your studios flourished around the pandemic. Take us a little back in time, tell us about your individual journeys in design.

Noorein Kapoor (NK): My inclination towards interior design started in my childhood. I was in 7th grade when we were renovating our home. I was immensely fascinated by the work and that grew professionally as well. Choosing fabrics, discussing colour combinations, finding textures, I distinctly remember being fascinated with the nuances of imagining a space, and putting it together. That could have been the defining moment in my life. Even as a child I was acutely aware of my penchant for concocting a space. So, I went on to pursue my Bachelors in Interior Design from Rachna Sansad. After a brief stint with Ashiesh Shah, I decided to branch out on my own. I’ve failed many times, I even thought of giving up, but I persisted. And now, in hindsight, I’m glad I persisted. It has been a fantastic journey so far!

Kumpal: It’s interesting that you say that. I never knew why I gravitated towards design. But now that I look back at my childhood influences, I realise that’s where my initiation into design began. I come from a very matriarchal family. The women of my family, my mother, and especially my grandmother, were a strong influence on me. She was so house proud, and I think that kind of rubbed off on me. And we had this beautiful haveli in our village; the design, the art captured my imagination. I grew up listening to stories, I spent my childhood taking part in simple DIY projects. I think that those stories, those early influences left an indelible mark on my imagination. I gravitated towards design, I would say, subconsciously.

My design journey began with three years at Rachna Sansad, followed by working under celebrated architects and then a short specialisation at Central Saint Martins, UAL. Upon returning, I applied for positions in publications. Eventually, I joined my sister’s office, and in October 2011, launched Purple Backyard. Over 12 years, we’ve completed 70+ projects, exploring architectural aspects this year. We are currently working with Indian materials, mainly stones and marbles, to make pieces of interest and celebrate the creative expression via these products and art pieces under the brand name PB Home. The defining moment for pursuing visual merchandising post studies in interiors came from my passion for storytelling through spaces. Decoding narratives and enhancing my design study inspired me. This is evident in the flow and rhythm of our interior/architecture projects today.

Is it a Man’s World? Not Really!

Kumpal: When it comes to interior design, I feel it is a woman’s world. Women are generally more empathetic, more sensitive. And that kind of reflects in your design. But then these are stereotypes, we are here to break stereotypes!

Noorein: I hear people talk about the feminine touch. But how do you define feminine touch? I often pose a rhetoric in response… is there something called a man’s touch? Not really. I feel design transcends all barriers. In that sense, it’s neither a man’s nor a woman’s world.

Kumpal: Of course, there were prejudices and judgements. At times, your clients refuse to take you seriously. I’ve been told I’m too aggressive for a woman! A lot of times, I’ve been the only woman at a project meeting. Apart from these external tribulations, being a solo entrepreneur, I also had to juggle between designing sites, managing logistics, contracts and legalities, maintaining accounts—but it’s been an exhilarating experience. Things have changed now. Like Noorein says, good design transcends all barriers. The biggest prejudice was around my age for the longest time, instead of my experience. (Looking older was almost a prerogative at the time.) Working with labour, dealing with contractors was challenging as they wouldn’t like a woman giving them orders, especially in cities outside Mumbai. But thankfully, things have changed for the better now.

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