Coming to India Design ID Mumbai? The Fair Director reveals what not to miss

What’s worth your time, your curiosity and perhaps your wishlist? Misha Bains maps India’s buzziest design week from October 09 to 11, 2026

06 Oct 2026

Pratishtha Rana

When was the last time you brought an object home not solely because of its good looks, but because it rekindled your curious brain cells to ask: who made it, what it was made of and where did it come from? Closing in to a city that’s better synonymous to a cultural potpourri, the third edition of India Design ID Mumbai asks these very questions, materially and visually amidst a monumental setting at the Jio World Garden, BKC. The 2026 theme? The Deep Fathom. Unpacking the vast fields of architecture, interiors, product design, craftsmanship, material experiments and the new-age dilemma of more is more (is it though?), we sit down with Misha Bains, Fair Director and Curator, India Design ID, asking her to reveal all the insider intel that’ll help you discover the best of ID Mumbai! Book tickets here.

Excerpts below…

With this year’s theme The Deep Fathom, what ideas or misconceptions do you wish to challenge?

After last year, I’ve been thinking about how there is an influx of new designers and makers, and with it, a lot of noise. But I guess because of social media and so much happening around us, our gaze has become increasingly peripheral. We rarely take the time to understand why something looks a certain way or is made with a certain material.

It is about moving away from the impulse to acquire things blindly and towards a more considered understanding of what holds value and what doesn’t, and what goes on behind what we see.

SHED at India Design ID Mumbai 2026

Where at the fair do you think the theme comes alive most powerfully?

I’d say, the ID Special Project. This time what we’ve curated is called Undercurrents. It specifically drives the theme of the fair, Deep Fathom.

We’ve selected six studios after extensive research and conversations with people. The most interesting part? Five out of the six studios are of Indian origin and located elsewhere in the world. They straddle between two territories and that uniqueness will be on display. None of them began with the intention of making a light or a chair or a product. Instead, they started by experimenting with different materials, technologies and processes, eventually arriving at something unexpected.

What at the fair would you encourage a visitor to pause and focus on?

Regardless of which pavilion you enter, I think what’s special about this edition is the connective thread that runs through it. Whether it’s the Editions, Design or Collectible pavilion, I would encourage visitors to take a moment to speak with the designers and look a little closer at the collections, to understand why something is made and the story behind it.

Maison Sia at India Design ID 2026

Photography courtesy of India Design

What would people still be talking about after ID Mumbai closes on Sunday?

I really want people to take away the discovery of something new.

As one of the oldest design fairs in India, our show has become a space where exhibitors are excited to launch new collections and offer visitors an experience they haven’t encountered before. Now that it takes place twice a year, I think that sense of discovery is something people will continue to remember.

If you could take home one thing from the fair, what would it be? And why?

In terms of the things, there are just too many things to take away from the fair! But the conversations of all the speakers at the ID Symposium would be one of my takeaways. We’ve curated the programme to explore the different streams, from architecture and product design to the arts at large, including fashion, poetry and filmmaking.

Materially…one of the new collections at the ID Collectible pavilion explores cast glass with nickel; a combination I haven’t really seen before in India. I find it exciting when designers move beyond the materials they’ve worked with before and experiment with something new.

Gunjan Gupta at India Design ID 2026

Kunel Gaur at India Design ID 2026

QUICK FIRE!

With plenty to see and only eight hours to wander around, where should you head first? Fret not, there’s something for everyone. Misha maps out the must-visits for every kind of design enthusiast.

For the design rookies, head to…
ID Exhibit and enter the Design edition. Find furniture, lighting, textiles and objects that reinterpret tradition through a contemporary lens.

For the collectors, head to…
The ID Collectible. This is where you’ll see an intersection of design and art come alive with a side of functionality.

For the person who’s seen it all, head to…
ID Special Project: Undercurrents. It’s very avant-garde and experimental.

For the magpies, head to…
The Installations. For the magpies who are instinctively drawn to anything bright and shiny, I’d say start with the installations. There are some cool, experiential works by Alex Davis, Lekha Washington and another artist collaboration brought in by Kohler.

For someone who only has an hour to spare, head to…
ID Collectible, and then to ID Special Project.

India Design ID Mumbai 2026 takes place from October 9 to 11, 2026, at the Jio World Garden in Bandra Kurla Complex from 11AM to 7PM. Over 120 Indian and international brands will present furniture, lighting, interior products, craft and collectible design, alongside the ID Symposium, featuring conversations with leading voices from the global design industry. Book tickets here.