The Royal Affair: An Afternoon in Baccarat Red

There are certain types of afternoons that are not planned for. The type of afternoon where, upon entering a room, something has simply changed — the light, the energy, or even your own breathing rate has changed. That’s exactly what happened at The Chanakya on Baccarat’s takeover of its interiors for The Royal Affair, which was truly more of an experience than it was a styling workshop or event.

The entire space was painted in a very deep, warm red, with an intense hue that can only be found in a large space like the Chanakya. The size and shape of the chandeliers contrasted with the red walls to provide an artistic view, while also creating interest within the room at the same time. The room was full of roses that were in creative arrangements, and the candles added a low wavelength of energy being emitted that illuminated the high number of crystal surfaces displayed throughout the room. Guests flowed through the room and had, at some point between having their first and second drink, given up checking their cell phones. That, above everything, illustrated the point of the overall event/experience.

A House That Has Always Understood Ceremony

To trace how an afternoon such as this can produce results that are more successful than others, you must also comprehend exactly what Baccarat is – and it’s certainly more than just a crystal company. The foundation of Baccarat goes back to 1764 when King Louis XV gave the green light to create a glassmaking plant in the little town of Baccarat, located in the region of Lorraine (northeast of France). The area had long been recognised for its forests, the various rivers, and the quietness of the area and has since gained recognition for how the light moves through lead crystal that has been cut with exceptional accuracy.

The manufacture in Lorraine is 12 hectares in size, with a workforce of over 520 artisans. The manufacturer has 12 Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (the highest honour for craftsmanship in France) – this is more than any of its competitors. Some of the decorative hand-cut components can take up to 40 hours to create. It takes one week to produce a single moulded item from the time it goes into the kiln before it can be worked on. These facts are not accidental; they’re part of the foundation of a company that has never compromised on quality in more than 200 years of business.

What Lalima Chhabra Brought to the Room

The Royal Affair, created with Lalima Chhabra, styled an experience where one has the confidence to know that opulent spaces are best appreciated when they are designed like they have actually been lived in as opposed to staged. The setting was salon-like in the truest sense of the term — part drawing-room, part studio/atelier, and part dinner party at the residence of someone who possesses exemplary taste and has no desire for you to feel under-dressed for your participation in this beautiful event.

Guests were invited to walk through the spaces and engage with their majesties, instead of being seated and lectured at, through their own participation through the art of floral design — how to work with volume, how to work with asymmetry, how to work with colour contrast, and not just forcing flowers into submission.

They discussed the importance of hosting without using a listicle such as “ten things to do for your next dinner party”, but instead discussed what it means to create a space where others feel genuinely welcome.

Crystal was demonstrated to guests, much to their surprise, as not having to be stuck behind glass cabinet doors and only taken out for that “special occasion”. For example, a Baccarat tumbler used on a Tuesday morning completely transforms the quality of your morning coffee ritual. Or, as they demonstrated, placing a vase at the end of a hallway changes your whole perspective of what it means to return home.

These are small shifts with outsized effects, and the afternoon made that case quietly through experience rather than explanation.

The Larger Conversation About Luxury.

In India’s cities with a greater understanding of design, the kind of people who discuss luxury have changed. The conversations people are having about luxury have shifted away from logos and price points and have become much more nuanced to encompass those things that are harder to categorise — the quality of experience, the intention of an item, and the way the design creates an emotional response in your body before your mind has registered what you have seen.

Baccarat’s The Royal Affair was firmly a part of that type of discussion. The presentation didn’t feel like a hard sales pitch. There were no catalogues handed out and no directions given for where the guests were to go (around different counters). Instead, they were introduced to a world of beauty and slowness, and they were encouraged to discover their place within that world without some heavy-handed direction from the brand.

This is how Baccarat does things, and this is how a company that has been producing objects for 260 years — longer than the combined lives of everyone who worked at Baccarat — goes about their business.

Why It Stayed With You

The best experiences in your life are those that cause you to make a small change, rather than a big change. When you leave a styling course, you aren’t necessarily going to walk out a different person. However, you may decide to rearrange the flowers that were already in your home after you arrive home. You may choose to take your nice glasses out of the cupboard even if there’s no occasion, such as if it’s a Wednesday and you’re at home. You may choose to take your time while setting the table for your own use.

The Royal Affair at The Chanakya accomplished this by allowing guests to be reminded (gently, over roses and candlelight and the magical sparkle of crystal) that the distinction between the ordinary and the extraordinary is simply a function of the degree of attention one pays to a circumstance. The honest form of luxury is not so much about accumulating things as it is about creating things with practice.

This has been Baccarat’s philosophy since 1764, but it took a blood-soaked afternoon in New Delhi for us to say it out loud.