A few months ago, while browsing through the stalls at a luxury exhibition in Mumbai, I stumbled upon a regally decorated stall with, what else, trunks! No, not your mundane variety that you may find in a corner of some homes as a legacy of the past. And neither were these Louis Vuitton trunks, coveted by the Maharajas of yore.

These were trunks by a contemporary Indian brand, Trunks Company Jaipur. On display were innovative trunks that went beyond the obvious. There was a brilliant Watch Steamer Trunk, a bespoke piece crafted in full-grained leather with interiors lined in lamb leather, for the storage of luxury watches.

There were bar trunks (or trunks customised to be a bar), a trunk that works as storage for expensive cognacs, jewellery trunks, and a wine trunk with niches to hold wine bottles, glasses and custom-made drawers for wine tasting tools and accessories that you can carry in the boot of your car to your next picnic.

Of course, there were also chic trunks for travel, and classic trunks to store your trousseau, finest silks and linens or any other precious possessions, from single malts and wines to cigars and perfumes.

The co-founders of the brand, brothers Paritosh and Priyank Mehta, are first-generation entrepreneurs. The Mehtas have leveraged their decades of experience in leather crafting to create a contemporary brand inspired by Indian royalty’s love for luxury trunks.

“The brand stemmed from our fascination for trunks. Nobody in India made trunks so we thought, it may be interesting to do that,” says Paritosh Mehta. “Trunks date back to the 19th century. They have been premium accoutrements for Maharajas and novelties for travel, hunting and sporting expeditions. We have tried to rekindle the heritage of trunks for contemporary connoisseurs.”

If their cognac and bar trunks are popular with Indians, the jewellery trunks are coveted by both Indian and Middle Eastern clients, and the Europeans often opt for the luggage trunks.

The craftsmen employed by Trunks Company Jaipur handcraft leather and teakwood into striking pieces, line them with suede sourced from Chennai and Italian leather and embellish them with metal trimmings from France. “It takes over 400 man-hours to handcraft each trunk,” Paritosh tells me. “We are obsessive about our attention to quality and details. The leather has to be of a particular grain. Our teakwood trim is the hallmark of the company.”

They are constantly innovating and a recent launch is the Polo Trunk, which took 600 man-hours to handmake. Made using leather dyed blue, its interiors are lined with magenta suede and brass hardware. The polo trunk has drawers to hold all the sports gear — saddle, stirrups, boots, helmet, gloves, knee guards, mallets, spurs and whips.

While the duo creates bespoke trunks on order, they have been part of a few rare exhibitions and sell online. Early this year, Trunks Company Jaipur opened its first store at Taj Rambagh Palace. “This is our first experience with retail and if it goes well, we plan to open at least two more stores,” says Paritosh.

Nappa Dori is another indigenous Indian leather brand that crafts interesting trunks, though it falls under the affordable luxury segment, at least by Trunks Company Jaipur’s standards. Its striking trunks are in colours such as classic brown and vibrant blue, bright red, and pastel shades such as pink, pista green and peach.

The range includes steamer mini trunks, a larger version of the classic briefcase, travel trunks, a Dean Backpack — a modern interpretation of a briefcase with straps that you can carry on your back, besides vanity cases, and Westgarth and Tetron Trunks with varied textures and weaving patterns.

New Delhi-located Nappa Dori was founded by the National Institute of Fashion Technology graduate, 38-year-old Gautam Sinha, in 2010. He named it after the materials he uses, leather (nappa) and thread (dori). He set it up as a leather accessories business after spending several years making products for a Dutch company that has a studio in Delhi.

Sinha first used leather when a Scandinavian client asked for some belts and fell in love with the material. The trunks are a new addition to his repertoire. “I wasn’t sure who my clients would be when I set up the brand, but I had an idea and I decided to explore it,” Sinha has said.

His initial clients were the tourists and expats in Delhi, but now his vintage-style trunks and luxury leather accessories have Indians connoisseurs too; they form almost 40 percent of his buyers’ base.

“Once I was constantly asked, ‘Why does a bag cost so much’. The customers are not just paying for a leather trunk or bag; they are also paying for good design,” he says.

Sinha’s trunks, for instance, are handcrafted in sheet metal, powder coated and accessorised with high-quality leather straps and other details. They are secured with chrome finished locks and hardware, with the insides lined by beige cotton twill.

Nappa Dori has seven retail stores spread across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Gurgaon, but Sinha also works on bespoke projects for luxury hotels such as Burj al Arab Dubai, restaurants like Nobu and some airlines.

Deepali Nandwani is a journalist who who keeps a close watch on the world of luxury.

First Published:Jul 5, 2018 8:47 AM IST