Luxury bespoke trunks, once used by the Indian Maharajas and the elite in the West as a symbol of their elevated status in society, make a comeback. And two Indian designers are at the forefront.

The Trunk Company

Luxury has always thrived under the patronage of the royalty. Indian royalty, in fact, has always been fascinated by Louis Vuitton trunks crafted out of valuable materials and precious leathers. The brands ensured that the Maharajas, who had extravagant demands, get what they asked for. According to an anecdote recounted by Gaston-Louis Vuitton in June 10, 1944, an Indian Maharajah ordered all the trunks imaginable for the most diverse of items: trunk for golf clubs; trunk for turbans; trunk for decorations; trunk for polo sticks; trunk for horseshoes; trunk for colonial helmets, among myriad others. Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda had become one of Vuitton’s important and faithful clients in the 1920s. Among his purchases was a Torino suitcase with toiletry accessories in vermeil and ivory, a shoe trunk, and a tea case. The original tea case was a prototype created for a publicity campaign, but it caught the Maharajah’s eye and he expressed his wish to purchase it, since it would be convenient on tiger hunts. The tea case was delivered, according to the Maharajah’s wishes, by the early 1930s. The maharajahs of Jammu and Kashmir were important Vuitton clients since 1919. In 1925, Hari Singh, a polo fanatic, succeeded his uncle Pratap Singh, and ordered several special trunks from Louis Vuitton for his sports clothes and equipment, including one specially designed for his mallets.

Louis Vuitton Library Trunk

Blue blooded royalty no longer rules in India, but have been replaced by modern-day royalty: the rich, the High Networth Indians from the world of industry, business, IT and services. And these modern Maharajas are as demanding as those of yore.

Priyank and Paritosh Mehta, The Trunk Company

Catering to their whims are bespoke luxury trunk brands in India, brands such as Nappa Dori and The Trunks Company, who have attracted interest from both consumers and investors. Inspired by the rich, colorful culture of the regal city of Jaipur, Priyank and Paritosh Mehta, the two brothers who run The Trunk Company and a Parisian designer, , Livio Delesgues, set up The Trunk Company by fusing their expertise in leather craftsmanship with French design sensibilities. Each trunk that they produce is unique. The Trunks Company customizes vintage trunks on request from high-profile clients, which include the Royal Family of Qatar, besides Indian corporate bigwigs. Some of the world’s biggest jewelers are in talks with them to invest in their company.

The Trunk Company

The atelier makes beautiful trunks to store watches and jewelry, and safes for India’s biggest royal families and corporate houses, besides a range of smaller boxes you can take to a picnic, trunks that convert into a bar, or into a sound system! They are looking at opening stores at the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, and then expanding to Dubai and London. The brand will also launch a travel collection. How big The Trunk Company is on the international level can be judged by its new commission: a special project for watch trunks with London-based Bamford Watch Department, which offers customized watches from brands like Rolex.

Nappa Dori, Backpack Yellow Mini Trunk

Nappa Dori, a beautiful leather brand from Delhi, has been making a range of trunks, suitcases, bags, and other accessories for years. In February this year, they set up a store at the Doha International Airport’s Esquire boutique. The men’s only boutique retails leather goods, accessories, apparel and gadgets from the biggest luxury brands.

Steamer Trunk, Nappa Dori

 

Nappa Dori has also worked on customized projects for brands like Kiehl’s, Chivas, and Royce, besides creating special luggage cases for brand ambassadors of Macallan single malt whiskey and working on bespoke projects for global hotel chain Ritz Carlton and the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.

Gautam Sinha, Nappa Dori

Its products are available at Anthropologie and The Conran Shop in the US, along with other stores in Germany, France, Singapore and Finland. Nappa Dori’s founder Gautam Sinha says that the company, which runs four stores in Delhi and is expanding to Bengaluru, is scouting for funds.  “We have a massive clientele in Japan and Europe,” says Sinha