Scenes from the ramp at the Indian Leather Products Association show at Taj Bengal. Pictures by Rashbehari Das

Lush leather, shapely legs, manicured moves? The maidens from Mumbai sent the mercury through the roof on Saturday night.

Indrani Dasgupta, Candice Pinto, Deepika Padukone, Carol Gracious and Nethra Raghuraman ruled the ramp at the Indian Leather Products Association (ILPA) trade show in Taj Bengal.

Moving to the methodology of model-turned-choreographer Marc Robinson, the models wooed audiences in a fashion show spread over 10 sequences.

They walked with leather accessories ? ladies’ bags, portfolio bags, rucksacks and briefcases ? manufactured by some of the leading export houses of the city.

But with Deepika (daughter of ex-badminton champ Prakash Padukone) in low-slung denims and Nethra in a short skirt, the focus was more on what wasn’t on the femme fatales, rather than what was.

“I am quite excited about this fashion show. The best models are walking the ramp and showcasing the products,” said choreographer Marc, still looking good enough to give any male model a run for the ramp.

The ILPA ilk was also upbeat about today’s trends in the leather industry.

“Calcutta contributes more than 70 per cent of the total share in the small leather goods segment that is exported to other countries. It amounts to Rs 1,400 crore that only meets five per cent of the total demand. We are trying to take the contribution from 75 to 85 per cent of total exports,” says Paresh Rajdah, chairman of the Leather Goods Park Committee.

The first step towards realising this goal would be a designer studio that would forecast global trends, designs, patterns and colours in the leather accessories segment.

“Till even three years back, the condition was pathetic. Anybody would come in with a sample and would want us to copy it for them. Due to lack of infrastructure, research and development, we had no alternative but to replicate the designs,” rued Rajdah.

But with the design studio coming up in the Leather Complex at Bantala, Calcutta manufacturers would be updated about the latest designs and hues billed to be in vogue in the coming seasons.

“The design studio would do the research and keep manufacturers posted about the latest global trends in terms of designs, colours and patterns. Accordingly, the manufacturers can instruct their tanneries for the accessories to be in sync,” Rajdah said.

Even if someone is going abroad to meet a prospective buyer or attend any international fair, they can approach the studio for today’s or tomorrow’s trends.

The design studio is coming up in the proposed Leather Park inside the Bantala complex. Members of ILPA would be given shops in the park to display their products.

The total cost for setting up the design studio and putting the infrastructure in place would amount to Rs 5 crore and the entire funding would be done by the central government.

“We will have a set of designers who will travel abroad, attend fairs in different countries and talk to international designers. We would also maintain a channel of communication with global design studios. Once we get the forecast, we would start developing dummy accessories in our studio and then distribute them among our members,” concluded Rajdah.