Vintage Mumbai bags: Would you carry a Reita or a Freddie?

The bags Freddie; Reitaare named after Mumbai icons; Chernie is inspired from the old facets of Mumbai at Charni Road

This writer has always felt that nothing can justify Mumbai like a bag; it represents the busy, corporate mood of a city that never sleeps and, more importantly, the big bucks required to survive here. And so, when we come across a recently released collection called Bombay Dreams by Tokiké (a business enterprise that promotes urban culture and art through its statement bags), we are immediately intrigued.

When we reach out to founder Karan Bafna, he informs us that the homegrown brand was launched in 2021. "Bombay Dreams is our second-ever collection. Art is a huge aspect of where we draw our inspiration from, but people started associating us with only neoplasticism and Mondrian [owing to our first collection that was inspired by a trip to Italy]. We knew this is where our next collection would come into play - to reset perspectives. So, as a brand born in the city, and as folks who have lived here all their life, being inspired by Mumbai was an organic process," the 29-year-old tells us.

Karan Bafna and Riyaz Merchant

Creative director Riyaz Merchant adds, "When we started discussing our next collection and how we would break away from that strong perception that people had, we started discussing things I would observe while growing up in South Mumbai like the architecture, residential buildings, and the culture. From there on, it was a long journey, of almost three quarters of the year that involved sourcing the right fabric, the colours, then design, and a lot of prototypes. The moment you hear the word ‘Bombay', you're transported to a completely different time. It stirs up emotions. That's exactly what we had to pour life into, which took time to materialise," he continues, "We realised these associations come from the names of iconic places, spots, buildings, roads, and the people of the city, each of which has a strong personality. So, if you look at our bags, you'll see the same colours, similar colour blockings and shapes as our old buildings."

While one Bombay Dreams bag Reita is named after physician Reita Faria who became the first Indian to win the Miss World pageant in 1966, Chernie takes after Charni Road where one can still find reminders of the old, original city.

"The styles, colours and silhouettes are gender-fluid, structurally bearing resemblances to postcards from Mumbai of the 1970s and early ‘80s. Merchant designs with a muse in mind for each bag. There's always a persona that he tries to build, and so, we've named our bags after these personas. Also, they are ‘very now' when it comes to form, fashion, and function," Bafna signs off, promising that they will keep adding to
the collection.

Log on to @tokikeofficial
Cost Rs 3,290 onwards