Trunk call

WHEN Mumbai-based management professional Krupa Thakkar and her family embarked on a shopping spree to put together trousseaus for her brother’s wedding this April,one of the first places she visited was Mumbai’s Peddar Road store Jade,headed by designers Monica Shah and Karishma Swali. She picked up a brown-hued trunk as part of the latter’s bridal trousseau. “Once we had decided on the clothing,storing these elaborate ensembles — particularly the bridal lehenga — posed a challenge. So it made sense for us to get a trunk. Plus,its vintage look only added to its charm,” says the 23-year-old.

With vintage being a buzzword,“old” is no longer relegated to the back of the wardrobe. Several designers,including Shah,Swali and senior designer Arjun Khanna,have given the trunk a contemporary twist. “Trunks are about heritage and nostalgia. I have covered trunks with collages of denim swatches,and newspaper and comic book prints,” says Khanna. He has also used colours such as ochre,burgundy and cobalt blue for a funky feel.

Brands such as Louis Vuitton and Trunks Company Jaipur cater to a segment that look at trunks as a status symbol. Livio Delesgues,chief designer at the latter company,asserts that trunks are known to be premium accoutrements of the elite (including royalty) for their travel and sporting expeditions. “Today,we have rekindled the legacy of trunks for the contemporary world. Our trunks treasure all kinds of possessions from watches,shoes and jewellery to wines and cigars,” he says.

Customisation has also fed the trunk’s popularity since a monogrammed trunk holds more appeal. Louis Vuitton is famous for its personalisation services. Clients can pick a maximum of three initials to be painted on the trunk,available in eight font sizes,accompanied by stripes in a rich palette of colours. We could say,our trunks are packed and we’re ready to go.