Identified by their signature “yellow &\u00a0black” colour, the\u00a0old-school taxis\u00a0on the streets of Mumbai city have been facing a\u00a0tough competition not only from private companies offering\u00a0sophisticated vehicles, but also from their counterparts with a more modern engine.<\/p>\n

Mumbai’s\u00a0“Fiat Taxi”\u00a0is\u00a0an iconic part of its culture. Wtih over\u00a055,000 of them in Mumbai, drivers often seek innovative\u00a0ways to make their cars stand out by\u00a0decorating their glass windows with\u00a0radium stickers or\u00a0adding glowing lights. Some even try to attract customers with a hi-fi stereo system. But most of them pay very little attention to seat covers, which \u201care often functional and forgettable.\u201d<\/p>\n

A bunch of creative designers from Mumbai have teamed up to create the Taxi Fabric project<\/strong>,\u00a0which aims at\u00a0providing Indian designers with an unique platform to showcase\u00a0their work using taxi seats as their canvas.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe want to help Indian designers have their work not only be seen, but also allow them to connect with members of the public who up until now perhaps haven\u2019t understood that design can tell stories and create emotions,\u201d the team writes.<\/p>\n

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Through the project, the designers hope to initiate\u00a0a conversation and inspire older generations to change their perception of design.<\/p>\n

“Design, as a job or even simply something studied at school, is unfortunately not widely recognized in India. Older generations don’t understand it- design to them, just performs a function. Many people don’t know that design can create a real impact. With so few spaces for young people to show off their skills, it’s hard to change that perception.”<\/em><\/p>\n

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The Taxi Fabric project team has self-funded the designs and fittings of five taxis with themese which are mostly inspired by life in the city.\u00a0Each design is featured in the interior of a taxi for four to five months, and can be seen by over 4,000 people. According to the project, \u201ctaxi drivers have commented that they believe their customers are not only engaging with them more, but most of them also ask them about their designs featured in their taxis.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Taxi Fabric interiors is vibrant and\u00a0eye-catching, and a fantastic platform for young designers to express themselves creatively. The team is currently\u00a0raising funds on Kickstarter<\/a>\u00a0to create a makeover for an additional 20 -25 cars featuring works of more designers.<\/p>\n

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With over 170 backers, the project has already raised GBP 8,867 (INR\u00a08,86,146) of the pledged GBP 8,000. With another 7 days to go, the project will allow\u00a0over 1,20,000 people living in Mumbai to experience the colorful cabs and become familiar with the works of designers.<\/p>\n

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+ Taxi Fabric<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Identified by their signature “yellow &\u00a0black” colour, the\u00a0old-school taxis\u00a0on the streets of Mumbai city have been facing a\u00a0tough competition not only from private companies offering\u00a0sophisticated vehicles, but also from their counterparts with a more modern engine. Mumbai’s\u00a0“Fiat Taxi”\u00a0is\u00a0an iconic part of its culture. Wtih over\u00a055,000 of them in Mumbai, drivers often seek innovative\u00a0ways to make […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":44376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[88,4706,393],"tags":[4893,1032,7587,7586,7585,1547],"yoast_head":"\n