Interview | Artist Kanika Ranka Adani on finding her calling to customising luxury wearables and more

Artist Kanika Ranka Adani
| Photo Credit: Chinmay Shah

On her return to India in 2016, after pursuing a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, US, Mumbai-based artist Kanika Ranka Adani worked in a graphic design agency, followed by a stint with a fashion designer. However, neither of these professions stood out to her. While Kanika desired to work with “something she could paint”, the conventional career path of artists limiting themselves to art collections and shows did not appeal to her.  

Ultimately, Kanika’s quest for a niche trade, which was also the perfect amalgamation of her love for painting and fashion with luxury, resulted in the formation of The Studio Project. The design firm specialising in luxury wearables with over 100 clients a year, since its formation in 2016, converts items such as jackets, shoes, wallets, passport cases, skateboards, guitars, bags and many more into personalised hand painted designs according to her client’s demands. Among her clients are celebrities such as Virat Kohli, Nita Ambani, Sonam Kapoor, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Ayushmann Khurana, Dinesh Karthik among others. She has also worked in collaboration with brands such as Ferragamo, Versace and Dior with her customisation.

“People were only doing initials, stripes and so on which luxury stores were providing. But there was no one to help a customer express their creativity on their product. That’s where I jumped in,” Kanika says. 

The process, Kanika says, involves a constant back and forth with the client, with the first step being them reaching out to her with a specific item in mind. The object to be painted on is sent to the artist. It is photographed and a digital layout of the design with this photo is sent to the client for approval. Once the client gives the feedback and the design is finalised, Kanika sets out to paint on the item. 

The artist, who believes it is her role to help people express “their personality and style” through their luxury products, affirms that her craft helps them tell their story through the products they already own. She says, “For example, if someone has travelled to five destinations and they wanted to talk about their story, I help them create travel stamps on their bags with their experiences. Or, if someone has pets, I bring that aspect on that accessory.” 

She adds, “It’s a fulfilling and humbling process to be able to help someone transform something they already have and are excited to use it again, instead of giving it away or buying something new.”

However, Kanika admits that it gets challenging sometimes to translate the emotion of a client, when she has not gone through them herself. She mentions how one of her clients complained they could not see the same twinkle in the eyes of their pet dog in the design. “It gets tricky in those situations. I ask for more images. I talk to them more. I try and understand about the relationship they shared and try to bring all of that through the painting.”Another challenge she faces is adjusting her art with respect to the utility of objects such as skateboards. 

A skateboard designed by Kanika Ranka Adani
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Kanika, who has worked with Virat Kohli twice says, “They‘re iconic figures and we see them from such a distance and then when you get to work with them it’s a definitely an experience.” The artist created over 40 designs for Virat’s Louis Vuitton leather duffel bag, before he picked one with olive green and brown brush strokes on the sides of the bag. She remembers, “It was a classic bag, but he wanted to bring a twist to it. We interacted for about a month and a half before we finalised the design and I think he really liked it.” Kanika has also designed the passport cases for Virat Kohli, his wife and actress Anushka Sharma and their daughter Vamika Kohli. 

Bag designed for Virat Kohli by Kanika Ranka Adani
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Kanika Ranka Adani’s passport cases for Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma and Vamika Kohli
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Kanika was enrolled into weekend art classes when she was in school by her parents when they noticed her penchant for art and craft. Later, during her days in Chicago, she was exposed to art on an “interdisciplinary level”. She points out how she couldn’t limit herself to just painting, sculpture or glassblowing but had to do a mix of everything for four years. The artist says, “The faculty and the facilities there helped me harness this skill of thinking out of the box and creating paintings on surfaces that people will not usually create on.” 

“I used to always say I’m majoring in experimentation,” she adds. 

Moving forward, Kanika says, “I want to keep learning and growing as an artist,” while expressing her desire to bring out her own range of products in the future.