You would be forgiven for mistaking her to be an actor or a fashion model. But Faiza Seth is in fact the CEO of architecture and interior design company Casa Forma. Seth worked at Lehmann Brothers’ Hong Kong office, earned an MBA degree from Stanford, and then moved to London and set up Casa Forma as a property development firm in 2007. However, it was not to remain that way.
The real estate crash of 2008 forced Seth to rethink and she soon zeroed in on luxury design instead. The shift paid off and Seth is currently looking to expand her operations to India. Seth admits that her own Indian connections (she was born in Hyderabad and has family in Delhi) convinced her to choose India instead of the other BRIC nations. Seth has plans of opening a Delhi outlet by end-2011. One of Seth’s reasons for bringing her luxury business to Delhi has to do with her belief that Indians have had exposure global designs. She feels that India definitely has a demand for bespoke designs and luxury brands. She does admit that the Indian customer tends to be more price sensitive, but goes on to add that customers in the luxury sector are more concerned with getting products of the highest quality.
As she prepares to bring her luxury business to India, Seth will be looking to adapt her designs to the Indian market, keeping in mind weather conditions and dust among other factors. Asked about the design of the upcoming store she adds that it will be modern colonial, but with Art Deco and contemporary influences as well.
