Bags make a Big Statement
Anjana Sarin

THEY come in a variety of shapes and sizes, colours and designs, and in material ranging from patent leather, plain cloth, jute, metal mesh, faux fur, feather and crystals, silk, satin, denim, crochet, brocade, velvet and lycra.

There’s one for shopping and there’s another for a cocktail party. There’s also one you take for work, another for a wedding, another for meeting up with friends and yet another for a night out.... Indeed, there’s always a bag to match your style, the occasion and, most importantly, your state of mind.

"Just as a man is known by his shoes, a woman is known by the bag she carries," observes Latika Sanyal, a bag collector-turned-designer. "Never before has the Indian woman had such a wide-ranging choice to match her lifestyle. It is in exercising this choice for a bag that makes or mars her look."

Designer Manish Malhotra echoes her feelings: "Bags are an important fashion accessory, if not the most important one. I use bags liberally for all my shows. Even where films are concerned, bags are a must with most outfits. They look really attractive with evening dresses, lending the right touch of glamour."

With accessories gaining precedence over clothes for defining a woman’s personality, bags can only get trendier with every passing day. The time when an evening bag meant a scruffy vanity case or, at best, a black leather purse with a clutch is long gone.

Today, even the simplest of bag designs are inspired pieces embellished with embroidery from Kashmiri, Parsi and Mughal craft traditions. For instance, you can find exquisite gold zardosi work on a red velvet base and scatters of tiny crystal beads within the pattern.

A designer like Rina Shah has envelope purses and drawstring pouches studded with Swarovaski crystals and semi-precious stones like topaz, amethyst, turquoise and lapis lazuli, either stitched on the body or encrusted on to the handles.

"The bags are for the fashion-conscious high-society woman who don’t mind spending a little extra to complete an outfit," explains Shah. "After all, embroidery has always been part of the Indian culture and it is a sensibility we can be proud of."

Sanyal also designs bags coordinated with her eveningwear range, mainly in burgundy, blue and black. "Most women prefer the beaded bag since it is less expensive than the formal ones," she says. "Moreover, beaded bags make good gift items, much as they are fashioned after English-style bags."

Then there’s the well-known Aditi’s boutique in Mumbai, set up by the late Madhu Mehta in 1967. Even today, Aditi’s specialisation lies in ornate handbags encrusted with semi-precious stones and crystal work, besides embroidered motifs in zardosi, aari, tilli, taarkaam and kashta style.

According to the boutique’s present owner, Nitai Mehta, pouch bags and batuas continue to be perennial favourites with the city’s fashion crowd. Also gaining in popularity are bags in envelope, geometric and cube shapes, constructed out of velvet, silk, brocade, tussar and matka silk.

‘In India, evening bags are an essential part of the woman’s wardrobe, given the number of festivals and ceremonies she has to attend round the year," says Nitai. "I know of women, who have bags to match every outfit and occasion. In fact, they are proud to have more bags than shoes!"

Yet another trend fast catching up with city-based women is to have bags fashioned out of natural woven textiles (tussar, jamevars, brocade, silk, net, gold tissue and organza) in prints that match those of ornate sarees like kanjeevarams and tanchois.

Such bags are usually embellished with zardosi or jadau embroidery, while the handles are worked out of wood, metal, rudraksha beads and then given finishing touches with brass engraving marble inlay on enamel or else, plain mirror-work.

For a funky look, there are Neha Pandit’s unusual wire-and-bead bags with brass and copper plates stuck on. Priya Kakkar’ party bags are made from pashmina wool while Sharbari Dutta’s batuas are in Benarsi silk, done up in zari and kantha embroidery.

Equally offbeat are jute bags, hand-woven into a mat base, which is then folded and cut into shape. Cane shoulder bags with beadwork and raw silk pouches with kantha stitches are also popular, especially among college students. But leather bags, for a variety of reasons, have fallen from favour. (MF)