Homegrown tote bags you can carry on your vacations across the world

By Vinita Makhija

Whether you’re travelling to Europe this summer, or working extra hours, big girl tote bags that’ll hold your whole day are becoming a practical but sartorially favourable requisite. With most offices demanding in-person attendance again, statement totes are making a comeback. We rounded up 8 homegrown brands that practice mindful-making processes and make use of Indian crafts, locally sourced textiles and materials. These bags will fit your laptop, evening workout gear and multiple bottles of water. However, they are nowhere as basic as the canvas, grocery pickup carry-alls we all got used to schlepping around during covid. We suggest you style them with a pair of denim shorts and a hoodie for an errand run, or with a minimal, chikankari kurta-pyjama set on a flight, and even use it as the perfect arm candy for those desk-to-drinks days.

Gaurav Khanijo, designer of the suavest menswear label Khanijo has always thought out of the box. Think innovative pieces such as ‘the girlfriend jacket’- a cropped jacket style for men or surreal embroidery on everyday shirts. Gaurav has created a signature style for his ready-to-wear label and for his totes, he collaborates with Sanjay Didapur of HANDS NGO. The NGO supports and teaches new life skills to people who were displaced during the making of the Almati Dam. Handwoven in Jute and cotton, these spacious bags look like they could fit a 5ft Monstera, and are perfect for a working or plant mom.

By Hasina Jeelani

By Sanaa Sharma

By Daniel Rodgers

While repurposed fashion has many fans, its rustic look can discourage certain discerning buyers. Tejal Keyur’s bags are here to change that perception. Though made from scraps and donated polyester saris, these bags are not your usual DIY/upcycled tote project. An NID graduate, Keyur greatly respects processes; she trained her Kolhapur-based artisans in hand sewing, knitting and braiding for half a year before they started on actual brand pieces. There is a strict colour and design-focused moodboard to match the saris collected. Once segregated, disinfected and cleaned they are fashioned into handbags and totes that feature woven tigers, abstract landscapes, and floral motifs.

A social enterprise, this brand’s pieces are handmade out of a tiny village. Their totes and other home decor products are woven from leftover hosiery fabric and hand crocheted on small-sized wooden looms developed in-house. In a soft palette, Project 1000’s bags are commute-proof and gender-neutral. The brand also largely hires only women and uses herbal dyes for most of their pieces. Perfect to gently wash at home and re-use, you can fit your tiffin box, toiletry bag and an iPad for a day about town.

You know when you notice another girl has the same thing as you across the room and instead of being embarrassed about a matching moment with a stranger, you nod in acknowledgement of each other’s cool. Yes, those are the Art Chives ‘I dream in India’ totes, which have developed a mini cult of their own. Their ‘Bombay’ tote is perfect to take on a summer holiday at the beach, and the Jaipur ones bring forth a refined minimalism for city breaks.

Sudheer Rajbhar, the founder, addresses the subject of caste head-on on through his creations. Chamars are a community of leather workers traditionally considered to be of a lower caste. The word ‘Chamar’ is considered an ethnic slur, by naming his brand so, he wanted to reclaim the identity and agency for the work he and his ancestors continue to do. The brand works with discarded industrial rubber tyres and other eco-conscious materials to design colourful and polished pieces that are worth sharing among your sisterhood.

Maison and Mill’s forever summer aesthetic (their clothes are made in the yummiest cotton and jamdani textiles) carries over to their bags collection as well. If you have been to a farmers’ market, you will know the bag used to pack your fruits and veggies in sustainable leaf packets, which comes in a renovated form at the brand. This XL-sized ‘Market Tote’ is a formal version of that idea. Handcrafted using fibres extracted from Banana tree bark, it is an all-natural and guilt-free buy. Hand twisted, knotted and crocheted by the women artisans in Kabini.

By Hasina Jeelani

By Sanaa Sharma

By Daniel Rodgers

Birthed and designed in New York by Shivam Punjya, Behno as in ‘sisters’ in Hindi or what the women artisans in the brand’s workshops call each other is a new brand you must include in your bag closet. Their knotted leather bags are sophisticated, minimal and fresh. Season and trend agnostic, they want to encourage buyers to acquire ‘forever pieces’ that can be carried anywhere. Their discreet logo makes this a perfect ‘quiet luxury’ buy. Plus Katrina Kaif is a fan, investor and ambassador. Our pick? This traffic stopping red.

After three decades of manufacturing and advising global leather brands on their practices and pieces, the parent company behind this young, hip brand wanted to showcase their expertise. Our favourite is this canvas and leather tote with fine Indian craftsmanship that focuses on details like extra leather pouches as a part of the tote and customisation service that adds your initials to the bag. Our choice? This ‘Forest Tiger Mama Tote’ makes it across the urban jungle.

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