The stunning visuals and the fascinating characters of the latest Disney film Beauty And The Beast find place on totes, slings and satchels from the house of Hidesign. The Enchanted collection by the premium leather brand is a collaboration with Disney India. Hidesign founder-president Dilip Kapur (left) takes t2 through the fairy tale-inspired line.

How did this collaboration with Beauty And The Beast come about?

Called Enchanted, the idea for the collection stemmed from Disney India’s wish to extend their Beauty And The Beast story to youth and adults through a unique offering. Collaborating with a well-known Indian brand was the way to go, which is where Hidesign came in.

Tell us about the Enchanted collection…

The collection is inspired by the pure enchantment of Beauty And The Beast. Hidesign epitomises natural beauty and celebrates the grand romance of Belle and her love for the Beast through this 30-piece collection. The process began with us receiving character imagery related to the story from the Disney India team, and then merging that with quintessentially Hidesign shapes and colours. The idea was to take what’s iconic about Disney’s Beauty And The Beast and translate it into this collection, while also staying true to our brand values. The end result is classic, cool and fashion forward but at the same time very sophisticated. The collection is a combination of slings, totes, satchels and wallets in a colour palette of red, blue, brown and white. Handcrafted leather applique, patchwork and etching exude an overall elegant appeal.

What was the brief from Disney for the collection?

We had inputs from Disney India on the characters, art and its translation into product. Hidesign’s team applied their extensive design expertise to bring this limited edition line to life. 

How difficult was it to convert the idea of the movie into bags?

There were many themes that were explored from the movie that would lend themselves to a great collection. We decided to focus on the stunning visuals. We have tried to get the heart-warming camaraderie of the enchanted castle staff make their appearance on embossed leather and canvas bags, patchwork of the bitter and broken-hearted Beast contrasted with the soft-natured and motherly Mrs Potts and her son Chip feature on a stylish tote... and finally the romance between Belle and the Beast. 

Hidesign is known for its classy bags for working women. How does the Enchanted collection fit in with the brand image?

We’ve taken our classic shapes using vegetable-tanned leather that Hidesign is known for and the craftsmanship can be seen in the detailing done with the story’s art. The imagery from the movie helped us make the bags more fun, playful with elements of fantasy. We’re targeting working women who are willing to experiment.

Or are you targeting a younger market with this collection?

One of our key plans with this collaboration with Disney is to tap into different markets. And given the popularity of Disney stories and characters in India, we were hoping to get new customers on board. 

What kind of response have you received for the collection so far?

The response has been phenomenal both online and offline in India. This collaboration takes Hidesign into new customer segments and we were not sure if our customers would respond as well as they did. We are selling at approximately 50 per cent higher than our normal collection. 

Are you open to collaborations with other movies in the future?

We love stories and are always open to interesting collaborations as long as the company has a like-minded approach as ours.

Smita Roy Chowdhury