Kangan Arora

Kangan Arora

Kangan Arora is a London-based designer working at the intersection of interior design, surface pattern and art. Her soulful work draws on both her Indian heritage and a love for contemporary graphic language. From textiles to homeware and large-scale installations, she treats pattern as stories and colour as a thoughtful narrator.

And, as often happens with people we've admired for years, she turns out to be as lovely as her work. 

  • You, in a nutshell?

    Colour obsessed artist and designer. Proud Londoner and homesick for India. Always taking photos, making something for my daughter, listening to 70s Bollywood and snacking. 

  • Where is home?

    South London, UK.

  • What did you wanna be when you grow up?

    A singer… or an accountant. 

  • What did you become?

    A designer.

  • A turning point?

    2025! Going back to making things myself after a decade of operating solely as a design studio and focusing on collaborations. It’s exciting to be making all the decisions again.

  • The best gift you ever received?

    The Vilbert Chair by Verner Panton for IKEA.

  • The best gift you ever gave?

    I took the family to Mexico City to celebrate my husband’s 40th.

  • Your most prized possession?

    The fan my friend Pauline Caulfield made for me. 

  • The ugliest item you own and dearly love?

    My husband and I went to a Wilfred Wood workshop and made plasticine models of each other, definitely not a flattering one of me, but I love it!

  • A coveted yet clearly unaffordable item?

    Riten Mazumdar textiles for Geoffrey Bawa.

  • A contemporary kindred spirit?

    Bertjan Pot.

  • An all-time hero?

    Lubna Chowdhary.

  • A proud moment?

    My IKEA collaboration in 2019 - seeing my designs in stores was wild!

  • A recent project?

    A large-scale textile artwork measuring 18 x 5m at travelling performance venue, The Beacon for Bradford City of Culture 2025.

  • A friendship story?

    Making rugs with my friends at Floor_Story since 2013.