10 Extraordinary Taxi Interiors That Will Blow Your Mind

For Mumbai, the most populous city in India, the yellow-and-black Premier Padmini taxis are iconic. This most convenient mode of transport, however, does not get its fair share of thought when it comes to design. With this in mind, Sanket Avlani, Mahak Malik, Nathalie Gordon and Girish Narayandas, who work out of London and Mumbai, started connecting designers to taxi-owners in a bid to give these taxis a design makeover by turning taxi seats into canvases. With a stellar Kickstarter campaign that helped with funding, Taxi Fabric has managed to come up with some gorgeous taxi makeovers and now aims at getting 30 fabrics made by Christmas.

By designer Kunel Gaur, this design is a tribute to the Quit India Movement that was launched in Mumbai, a huge part of the Indian struggle for freedom. Conceptualized as a fresco, this design celebrates India’s freedom fighters

By designer Shaivalini Kumar, this taxi fabric is a tribute to Mumbai’s diverse architectural styles—a blend of Victorian, Art Deco, Gothic, Indo-Saracenic and contemporary.

By designer Ankita Shinde, this one is a little reminder for the super-busy Mumbaikars to catch a break and appreciate the small joys of life in their brutally demanding city.

With her design, Samya Arif picked elements common to the cultures of India and Pakistan, such as geometric patterns and hand gestures, and amalgamated them into a visual collage around a seascape.

For this piece, designer Sameer Kulavoor visualized the city of Mumbai as objects, aided by his fascination with how the design around them changes with culture and geography.

Designer Pranita Kocharekar celebrates Mumbai’s unique fashion style through illustrations ranging from stylish capes to plaid lungis.

Retro cool is the order of the day with this design by Lokesh Karekar, inspired by the intricate, organic and bold but unique nature of Mumbai.

Tasneem Amiruddin designed this fabric, keeping in mind the millions of small stories and moments that occur everyday in Mumbai and make up the city.

No Mumbai tribute is complete without the dabbawallas, who make sure the city eats on time. Designer Sanket Avlani used the color-coding system employed by the dabbawallas when they deliver lunchboxes as an inspiration for his vivid design.

Designer Gaurav Ogale’s work is combination of elements spotted commonly on Mumbai roads—pigeons, cups of steaming tea and commuters.

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