AMPM has come full circle: Priyanka Modi on Wāpasī to Mumbai & what’s next

Some returns come with a sense of deja vu. Others make you realise just how much you’ve changed since you were last there. For AMPM, its return to Mumbai is a little bit of both. Seven years after leaving the city, the brand is back in Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda. But this isn’t quite the same AMPM that left. The clothes have become quieter, the spaces are more contemplative, and the idea of luxury is a little less interested in making an entrance. In fact, its new Kala Ghoda flagship feels like someone has opened the door to Priyanka Modi’s home and asked Mumbai to come in.

It feels fitting, then, that the brand calls this homecoming Wāpasī. Because after nearly 25 years of building, unbuilding and figuring out what really matters, AMPM is returning with a sharper sense of who it is. And perhaps that is the more interesting kind of evolution, isn’t it? 

We speak to Priyanka Modi, Founder and Creative Director of AMPM, about coming home to Mumbai, designing a space that feels like a pause button, why the future of luxury might be more about feeling than flexing, and what happens when a 25-year-old brand decides to edit itself rather than reinvent itself.

LuxeBook: AMPM’s return is being called a Wāpasī, but after 25 years, how different does coming back to Mumbai feel from where you first began? What does the city mean to the brand today?

Priyanka Modi: It feels different, and yet somehow the same. When we started, we were still figuring out what AMPM was meant to be. Coming back now feels less like arriving somewhere new, and more like arriving at ourselves. Mumbai has always given AMPM so much love and support, so it feels amazing to be back and also exciting to be in a new location as vibrant as Kala Ghoda.

LuxeBook: The space draws from your own home. What do you want the consumers to feel and notice when they enter the space?

Priyanka Modi: I want people to feel like they can slow down the moment they walk in. I have always liked my spaces to be warm, minimal and quietly inviting. For me, personally, it is never about excess, always about intention. I hope people notice the little things: a curve in the wall, the way the light falls, a bench that invites you to just sit for a while. The idea for all AMPM spaces is to not be just a retail touchpoint, but an experience into the ease we design for.

LuxeBook: The facade almost shuts Mumbai out, while the interior is designed to make the city disappear. Was creating that sense of escape particularly important to you?

Priyanka Modi: Yes, very much so. Mumbai is a city that never really stops moving, and I think that’s part of its charm, but I also wanted this space to feel like a pause from all of that bustle. The windows hold a bit of discretion, enough to intrigue someone walking by, but enough privacy to feel like you’ve stepped away from the noise. For us, it was never about shutting the city out completely. It was about creating a moment of stillness within it.

LuxeBook: Fragrance and music are such integral parts of the space. Do you see the future of luxury retail becoming increasingly multisensory, where the customer remembers how a place made them feel?

Priyanka Modi: I really do. I think people remember feelings far more than they remember objects. The fragrance in our store, for instance, was chosen to feel inviting and comforting. It’s meant to be remembered long after you’ve left. I think that’s where luxury retail is headed: spaces that stay with you emotionally, not just visually.

LuxeBook: AMPM has always occupied that interesting space between comfort and sophistication. Has your definition of what makes something ‘luxurious’ changed over the years?

Priyanka Modi: Luxury, for me, has always been about ease. I grew up at a time when having time was itself a kind of luxury, when things were less immediate, and there was a natural effortlessness to how we lived. I think that has stayed with me.

Today, I still see luxury in the same way: in thoughtful craftsmanship, quality and things that don’t need to announce themselves. It is about creating clothes and spaces that feel considered, comfortable and effortless, and ultimately allow you to simply be yourself. That is very much what we want AMPM to stand for.

LuxeBook: India’s luxury consumer has become far more sophisticated, but has the retail experience kept pace with that evolution? Where do you think the biggest gap lies?

Priyanka Modi: Indian consumers today are far more discerning; they notice craftsmanship and authenticity. Where retail sometimes falls short is restraint; there’s a tendency to fill a space to make an impression. I think the real gap is trusting the consumer to appreciate quieter, more considered experiences.

LuxeBook: What do you think an Indian luxury brand can offer that an international label simply cannot?

Priyanka Modi: According to me, it is that sense of familiarity. An Indian luxury brand understands the rhythm of life here in a way an international label can’t replicate. There’s an emotional language that comes from being rooted in this culture, and it naturally shows up in how we design and the stories we tell.

LuxeBook: If the first 25 years of AMPM were about establishing a point of view, what do you want the next 25 to be about?

Priyanka Modi: Depth, along with discovery. The next 25 years are about going deeper into what AMPM believes in, while also taking that point of view into the world and finding the people and communities who naturally resonate with our way of life and thinking.

We would like AMPM to become a complete wardrobe for that customer, not just in terms of what we create, but in how we think about their lives, their spaces and the way they choose to dress and live. It is about refining what we stand for, while allowing that philosophy to travel, evolve and find its place in the world.

You may also read: S/S ’27’s best at the Paris Fashion Week