• 

  (Below) Leather satchel bags in neon hues like pink and green are attention-grabbers in the Viari collection, says its brand manager Abhyudyay Purkayastha (top left). Arijeet Purkayastha (top right) is one of the co-founders of the brand

  
  

So, what's so new about luxurious all-leather messenger bags, classic leather trunks or fashion accessories? Well, plenty. And you won't have to give your wallet a mighty heart attack by raiding the luxurious stores of global signature brands. A slew of home-grown designers is creating innovative leather 'objets de luxe' by merging function with aesthetics.

Leather is the latest buzzword in the accessories market and Indian designers are giving a spin to everything from women's handbags to smart travel accessories. We are talking dollops of drama by way of hand-woven Ikkat-embellished leather products, camera-cases decorated with delicate Chantilly lace, tribal embroidery and appliqu.

Designers are ensuring that the staid, boring look of leather is replaced by fun elements in the form of digital-prints on leather, woven fabrics (like Ikkat) and blingy detailing.

Says Gautam Sinha of Nappa Dori (literally meaning leather and thread) who is creating a buzz with its blend of vintage and contemporary styles: 'Making daily-use items from genuine leather is my forte.' He started working on leather in 2007 when he says he found a paucity of innovative leather products in the market. The NIFT graduate's Nappa Dori line has Ikkat embellished bags, leather tool kits, trunks with leather detailing, leatherwrapped dustbins and even small measuring tapes.

• 
  

  (Top) quirky pieces like leather-wrapped hip flasks and jewelled totes feature prominently in the Dhora collection. The brand was set up by Aavriti Jain and Siddharth Daspan (below)

  

Sinha started in 2010 with a small store in Delhi's Hauz Khas Village and has recently opened another store in the city's Mehr Chand Market. He also supplies to concept stores in Mumbai. Nappa Dori's products are priced at Rs 550 (for leather measuring tapes) and go up to Rs 20,000 (for large leather trunks).

Travel accessories brand 1701 by Karishma Jhalani and Ashwin Jain entered the leather travel accessories online market in 2012. 'That's because there were hardly any well-designed travel pieces available at that time,' says Jhalani. She hit upon the idea of launching a leather brand when she found a dearth of stylish leather accessories in the market.

Today, the brand has an impressive line of travel accessories like SLR cases which come with front and inside pockets to hold passports, keys and currency. Says Jain: 'Our funky camera cases double as totes and trendy clutches.' Prices range from Rs 3,850 for compact clutches to Rs 13,500 for DSLR camera cases.

• 
  

  Travel accessories brand 1701 offers an impressive line of travel accessories including embellished SLR cases with front and inside pockets. Karishma Jhalani (below) is one of the co-founders of 1701

  

Coloured leather is in and how. While greys, browns and blacks are classics, neon colours like pink and blue are adding to the cool quotient. 'Since our buyers are young people, they want attractive and attention-grabbing accessories,' says Abhyudyay Purkayastha, brand manager of Chennai based leather accessories brand Viari.

Old timers in the business, Vidhu and Arijeet Purkayastha, set up the brand in the late '80s to manufacture and export leather goods to international brands like Armani and Levi's. Today, their line of products is being designed by a British designer who has been roped in by the brand.

Says Abhyudyay Purkayashtha, Arijeet's son: 'We reinvented our brand by introducing contemporary designs targeted at urban consumers.' The brand has a line of colourful satchels, clutches and totes for women, and wallets and multi-purpose bags and belts for men in neon colours like blue, olive and pink. Prices range from Rs 550 to Rs 15,000.

• 
  

  Gautam Sinha (below) of Nappa Dori is offering functional pieces like leather tool kits and stylish bags with digital prints

  

Not just bags and totes, Jaipur-based brand Dhora set up by Aavriti Jain and Siddharth Daspan has quirky items like leather-wrapped hip flasks, leather detailed tool kits for motorcycles and leather planters (which come with a plastic lining inside).

The duo hit upon the idea of promoting leather while studying fashion promotion at the Instituto Marangoni in Milan in 2012. Says Daspan: 'Craftsmen in Rajasthan already have expertise in leather. We give them the designs and the raw materials and they execute the final product for us.' Prices start at Rs 1,650 (for flasks) and go up to Rs 4,000 for bags.

However, the quality of leather depends on the type of hides used. So, while Sinha uses vegetable tan (no chemicals are used for treatment) cow and sheep leather for durability, Dhora uses goat, cow and camel leather in their products. Viari on the other hand uses only cow hides for their products while 1701 uses cow, sheep and goat hides.

Leather care is easy, says Daspan. He adds: 'The texture of leather improves as it ages. Avoid using cleaning fluids as they could damage the leather. Also leather should not be exposed to humidity.'

Now that the material of the moment has been given a major facelift, it's time to seek that hide.