The Indian studio that’s fighting discrimination, one purse at a time
1/5
Luxe handbags
In the subcontinent’s largest slum, one man is trying to reclaim leather crafting - a historically lower caste profession - by designing luxury handbags and emblazoning a slur on them.
2/5
Chamar Studio
Set up by Sudheer Rajbhar - who is lower-caste, although not Chamar - set up the designer brand, convincing the craftsmen in the community to join him on the project.
3/5
Associations
Rajbhar’s biggest challenge was convincing the community that they could make this work, despite the fallout that would come with using a lower-caste slur as their brand name.
Amazon Top Deals
POWERED BY
Crompton Ozone 75 Litres Desert Air Cooler for home | Large & Easy Clean Ice Chamber | 4-Way Air Deflection | High Density Honeycomb Pads | Everlast Pump | Auto Fill| 3 Year Brand Warranty
₹9,798Buy Now43%
OFF
LG 32 L Convection Microwave Oven (MC3286BRUM, Black, 360° Motorised Rotisserie for Bar-be-queing, 301 Auto Cook Menu, Stainless steel cavity, Indian Cuisine, Tandoor Se, Steam Clean & Diet Fry)
₹19,340Buy Now19%
OFF
4/5
Raw material
Traditionally in India, people of lower castes would use buffalo/cow hides to craft leather, but Rajbhar has turned it around, switching to recycled rubber in a bid to bring the craft into the sustainable age.
5/5
Artistry
The handbags aren’t inexpensive either, with some costing upwards of Rs 30,000, justified in the fact that everything is handmade and takes nearly a day to make one piece. Which has led to the bags being part of every high end store’s catalogue.