In with the old, out with the new

Designer James Ferreira welcomes us into the artistic vision that is his home.

Two years ago, as part of the Khotachiwadi heritage festival, fashion designer James Ferreira threw his house (and its precious contents) open to the public. People traipsed in and around his 185-year-old ancestral home, discourteously wearing high heels over 80-year-old flooring and prodding his Christian icon art. Ferreira remained unflustered. But that's the kind of man he is. He will share his beautiful home for a cause, but ask him if he would part (commercially, of course) with any of this carefully preserved antiquity, and pat comes the reply, "I even find it hard to gift them to friends."

In fact, sitting on a table is a recently purchased framed painting of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on the day of her coronation. Its history and vintage are unknown, but it's immaculately preserved. Ferreira contemplated gifting it away, but is having second thoughts. "Maybe I'll get a friend to approximate its value first. Who knows, I could've hit the jackpot with this one," he jokes. It'd be interesting to trace the genealogy of many of the items in Ferreira's treasure trove: colonial furniture, Portuguese Christian art, vintage Chinese silk borders (used ingeniously to frame the windows in his living room), pieces of Victorian porcelain and all kinds of bric-a-brac. "I buy things because I find them beautiful, I don't care if they're valuable or not," he offers.

Ferreira has a godown full of collectibles, most of them purchased from (don't fall off your chair) kabadiwalas. He's developed a reputation of being an eager collector in the area, and they gravitate towards him the minute they make an interesting addition to their inventory "" "although they've started to strike a hard bargain these days", he rues. In that sense, Ferreira is living in the perfect neighbourhood. The heritage village of Khotachiwadi used to be an exclusive East Indian settlement, but as more and more families immigrate westward, houses are emptying themselves out.

Ferreira, along with other residents, has been at the forefront of drives to promote awareness and respect for their heritage village. Luckily for them, the fact that development in the narrow lanes of tumble-down Khotachiwadi is so cheek-by-jowl means builders deem its cottages unviable as piecemeal purchases. "We've all turned into vigilantes to try and do all we can to respect the heritage status of our locality," he says. He's very pleased to note the public outcry against the proposed private redevelopment of Crawford market. "All our beautiful city needs for its preservation is some common sense and a good eye," he says.

But back to the treasures in his living room. Like an indulgent parent, he refuses to name a favourite, but we push him into it. He points reluctantly to a large wood and glass foldable partition screen. Ferreira has fashioned a collage behind the glass out of antique lace, crochet (in the form of an old Parsi toran) and old American cigarette packets (featuring society debutantes of the time), to stunning effect. "I will not commercialise my passion," he retorts quickly to the hint of a suggestion that he should start an antique furniture dealership that would dovetail into his other creative pursuit "" fashion.

Not a surprising reaction, considering it was only two years ago that Ferreira took a leap of faith by opening his own retail store "" after more than a decade of retailing from other boutiques and design houses. "I like staying small and enjoying myself. I don't feel the need to join the rat race," he explains, all the while looking every part a gentleman of leisure in his pajamas and tee. Every so often a karigar walks in with a mannequin and drapes silk cloth over it. A nip here, a tuck there, until a shape is assumed and Ferreira nods in approval (or not). "Our traditional dress, the sari, starts off with just a piece of cloth, yet becomes so beautiful when draped right," he explains. His clothes, always fashioned from cotton or silk, are known for their inventive drapes and classic silhouettes, all with minimal reliance on seams and darts. "I strive for my clothes to be as classic as possible," he adds.

His home is all classic too, save for a contemporary Sunil Padwal and a trio of paintings by young Dutch artist A Roosjen. Both, however, are modern takes on Christian iconography. Trust Ferreira to turn out a perfectly cohesive aesthetic statement.

A friend's daughter walks in with her boyfriend to show off "Mumbai's most beautiful home" and the discussion veers towards the rise of the male handbag and sexual politics circa 2020. It's hard to leave, but we must.