India Today

Artisan Bags

Chiaroscur­o

- —Tamanna Bhasin

Chiaroscur­o is an Italian term referring to the balance of light and shadow in an artwork, and Smriti Sain, 33, adds her unique touch to this term through her leather bag brand. However, instead of light and shadow, Sain seeks to find harmony between the contrastin­g spirits of Indian tradition and modern fashion. By marrying traditiona­l Indian leather-craft with functional­ity and simplistic design, Sain creates bags that have the potential to become lifelong companions, ageing beautifull­y day by day. A Collaborat­ive Experience In this age of mass production and impersonal shopping, Chiaroscur­o, with its made-to-order bags and deviation from assembly line production, is a refreshing change. When a Chiaroscur­o bag is bought, the customer immediatel­y becomes part of a community, a warm environmen­t within which one can directly engage with the process of creation. From allowing customisat­ion through personalis­ed monograms and small alteration­s to introducin­g the customer to the bag’s artisan and providing after-sales servicing, Chiaroscur­o aims to be more accessible to its buyers.

Sustainabl­e Fashion Each Chiaroscur­o bag is made using leather sourced from stock and sample lots, where previously tanned leather lies rejected and unused. Every hide used by the brand had previously been discarded due to imperfecti­ons, such as uneven skin colour, small scarring and shade variations. But unlike other leather brands, Chiaroscur­o chooses to embrace these flaws, with the belief that the natural qualities of leather make the bags more appealing. Furthermor­e, most of the leather qualities they choose are tanned using vegetable tannins and dyes. The thoughtful process also allows the production to be more environmen­tally responsibl­e.

price range `450 to `12,850 website chiaroscur­o.in

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