Classy and rather striking in their looks, a bag lover will find it difficult to give FiberKraft handbags the go by. Mithra Levis of FiberKraft bags explains why these essentially Indian handcrafted bags stand out from the rest...

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Was the idea always about designing bags?I was fascinated by Indian handicrafts and I wanted to bring an element of aesthetics to indigenous products made by the Indian craftsmen. And because I have always loved my bags, I thought it would be a good idea to add contemporary aesthetics to handcrafted bags, thereby creating stylish products that the youth would connect with. Our current collection of bags for example are a perfect instance of this thought. The bags have all been made from palm leaves and leather, handcrafted by local craftsmen I’ve employed.

What is FiberKraft’s fashion philosophy?FiberKraft’s main concept is to bring consciousness to fashion. We want to create sustainable, eco-friendly products and practice  fair trade by employing craftsmen and paying them what they deserve. We also employ differently-abled people. These are just some of the efforts we are putting to make FiberKraft a responsible label.What sets you apart from other labels available in the market?The unique thing about our brand is that we are probably the only brand anywhere to use natural fibres along with leather to craft bags. Then there’s also the fact that we only use genuine sheep leather, which is a small effort we are taking toward reduced animal cruelty, since sheep are killed for meat anyway.In retaining the essence of Indian arts, do you also ensure that its internationally appealing?Yes. We are an Indian brand but our aim is to be at par with international markets. There’s a mindset most people have that an Indian bag must be paired only with ethnic wear. We are consciously trying to break that stereotype. In fact, we have used a model wearing Western clothes in our publicity to show people that our bags go very well with Western wear, too. Interestingly, our first customer was a westerner and we have observed that our bags are quite popular with the foreigners.How would you describe the experience of starting an accessories label?Starting a label is not that easy. Every step is a hurdle. Most people in this industry are used to only working with leather and in working with only one pattern. Convincing the craftsmen to our experiment, to work with new textures for creating bags, was difficult. Making handcrafted bags where they were required to stitch palm leaves with leather was quite a tough task, one that required a lot of effort, and that was something the craftsmen were not ready for. A key lesson we’ve learnt along the way is that as long as your product is good, as long as it’s genuine, your customers are ready to buy what you’ve got to offer.