A name synonymous with avant-garde Indian design, Bobby Aggarwal, founder of Atelier Bobby Aggarwal, has consistently blurred the lines between function and art. Known for his masterful use of materials like reclaimed wood, hand-patinated brass, and supple leather, Bobby weaves stories into every curve, texture, and joint. His pieces are architectural yet emotional, grounded in craft yet soaring with imagination.

In his latest collection, Denscity: There’s a Moon Hanging on My City, Bobby draws deeply from the dense, throbbing energy of Indian metropolises. He channels the chaos and cadence of urban living into sculptural furniture that whispers of old alleys, looming skylines, and intimate human moments nestled in concrete jungles. A powerful ode to growth, disorder, and unexpected harmony, Denscity is an urban love letter carved in wood and brass.

Here, in an exclusive interview with Sumita Chakraborty, Editor-in-Chief, TheGlitz, Bobby Aggarwal opens up about the inspirations behind his latest work, how he finds rhythm in chaos, and why design, like cities, should never be static.

Over To Bobby Aggarwal

Your atelier has always stood for storytelling through form and material. Take us back… how did your journey as a designer and founder begin? What sparked the idea for Atelier Bobby Aggarwal?

My journey as a designer has been anything but conventional. Born in Delhi and raised in Bhopal, I studied economics at Delhi University and had no formal design training. Yet, from early on, I was drawn to materials, texture, and form—and more importantly, to storytelling through objects. My aesthetic sensibilities were shaped by a rich, eclectic upbringing and an instinctive fascination with how spaces and materials can evoke emotion.

In 2007, I designed and manufactured my first furniture collection, Mixed Metaphor. Without any blueprint or strict design language, I relied on memory and emotion, weaving together nostalgic fragments into tangible pieces. I experimented with leather, wood, and metals—materials that felt honest, tactile, and expressive. That collection marked a breakthrough: it taught me that furniture could be more than functional—it could be narrative.

Over the years, as I continued working with distressed leather, hand-finished wood, and metal accents, my work became an ever-deepening exploration of surface, scale, and emotion. But by 2022, post-pandemic, I felt an urgent need to break away from commercial constraints and engage more honestly and exuberantly with my ideas. That became the genesis of Atelier Bobby Aggarwal—a space where I could pursue more personal, unfettered forms of expression.

Atelier’s debut collection, HEAVY, drew from brutalist architecture and sculptural form. It was raw, bold, and unapologetically direct. With Denscity, the latest collection, I’ve returned to a long-standing muse: the Indian city. The chaos, beauty, and contradictions of places like Bombay and Delhi—especially the dense, layered neighborhoods—are reflected in the complexity of materials and the rhythm of each design. It’s where storytelling, texture, and form all come together to echo the emotional landscapes I see around me.

India, in all its visual and cultural richness, continues to inspire me deeply. As I often say, this country is the answer for the creatively challenged. You just need to look—and feel.

Your new collection, Denscity: There’s a Moon Hanging on My City, is poetic, political, and deeply personal. What was the turning point or moment of inspiration behind this urban ode?

The city has always been my muse. Growing up in the scenic city of Bhopal and later moving to Delhi and then to Mumbai in my teens, exposed me to the sheer diversity, density, and rhythm of urban life. Neighborhoods like Dharavi, Bandra, Walkeshwar, Girgaon and Colaba to name a few are all glorious contradictions—organic yet planned, chaotic yet harmonious. Each has its own architectural language and spirit. This layered complexity inspired Denscity—an ode to cities that grow like living organisms, messy, beautiful, methodical madness with the spaces pulsating.

You work with complex materials—waste wood, leather, brass—and turn them into sculptural forms. What draws you to these textures, and how do they help express the layered realities of city life?

For this collection, we made a deliberate choice to use ‘found wood’—scraps collected from our shop floor over several months. These became the building blocks of the dense urban forms seen on the furniture. The brass elements were similarly repurposed and shaped in a local metal workshop. The black and white leather evokes the zebra crossings scattered across megacities like Mumbai—symbols of order amidst urban chaos. These materials carry stories, and in their reimagining, they echo the resilience and texture of city life.

Designing with density and rhythm in mind is ambitious. How do you translate the chaos and beauty of Indian cityscapes into functional pieces without losing their emotional gravity?

That’s the role of the designer isn’t it? …To distill both the tangible and intangible, to cut through complexity and reveal clarity. The dense clusters of Indian cityscapes—where people live full lives in tight, vibrant quarters—offer endless inspiration. Our aim is not to replicate these realities, but to evoke them emotionally, through form, rhythm, and material.

What have been the most defining milestones in your creative journey so far—whether a breakthrough project, a collaboration, or a shift in your design approach?

It all started in 2007 with my first collection, Mixed Metaphor—a series of leather-based furniture pieces that combined nostalgic storytelling with bold materials and an unapologetically Indian color palette. There was no grand design system behind it—just memories and instincts. But it was a breakthrough moment for me. It opened up immense possibilities and gave me the direction I needed as a designer for future collection of which there have been many.

As a design entrepreneur working at the intersection of craft and narrative, what are some of the most significant challenges you’ve faced, and how have they shaped your practice?

Scaling up and managing finances have always been challenges. But I’ve been fortunate to have some of the most dedicated karigars—artisans who’ve learned and grown on the job. Even when they didn’t know the techniques, their commitment and adaptability brought our ideas to life. It’s shaped my practice deeply; we grow together, piece by piece, story by story. Commerce happens!

Sustainability is woven into your process—not as a trend, but as an ethos. How do you balance creative freedom with ethical material sourcing and craftsmanship in today’s design climate?

For us, sustainability begins with the word no—no to endangered species, no to environmentally harmful materials. Leather, for instance, is often misunderstood. In India, it’s a byproduct, and when used thoughtfully, it can be one of the most sustainable and durable materials for furniture and other uses. Our ethos is simple: create responsibly, without compromising on beauty or intent of the raw materials we use.

What’s next for Atelier Bobby Aggarwal? Can we expect further explorations of narrative urbanism, or are you looking to expand your design language into new territories or mediums?

We’re always exploring—restless in the best way. New materials, new stories, new directions. You can expect more unconventional, freewheeling interpretations of our design language, grounded in narrative yet unbound by category. The Atelier journey is on the move!