Meet the man who reinvented leather – Times of India

What started out from a scooter garage in New Delhi’s Hauz Khas Village, Nappa Dori is now a brand to reckon with. With a flagship store in Covent Garden in London, the brand is on an expansion spree and will be opening stores in Dubai and Mumbai this month. It has become synonymous with minimal and elegant leather bags, trunks, and other accessories. Having completed 11 years, the creative vision behind the brand Gautam Sinha certainly has a success story to tell and inspire us all. Through his leather brand, Gautam has been able to showcase India’s rich heritage and artisanal craftsmanship. We speak to Gautam on the completion of 11 years of his label. Here’s an excerpt from the interview.

How would sum up Nappa Dori’s 11-years journey? Did you ever think that the brand would become this successful when you started off?


GS: It’s been one crazy creative rollercoaster ride for sure, when I had started the only thing on my mind was to keep the business alive and stay true to my creative vision. Looking back at it, I am proud that I haven’t diverged too much from that. I feel success is a by-product of a lot of hard work and resistance.

Where do you take your inspiration from every time you come up with a new collection?

GS: My travels have a big part to play in my designs, I am always looking for things that inspire me and which I can incorporate into my designs and daily life. All my collections have a reflection of that in some way.

How is Nappa Dori evolving with changing times? Are you working on changing the brand aesthetic so that it appeals to Gen Zs and Millennials?


GS: I feel our product transcends the generational gap, it’s designed for a universal pallet and not only for one specific audience, and yes I feel over time we have evolved from a leather goods brand to more of a lifestyle brand with fashion accessories, home decor, stationery and obviously our cafe called Cafe Dori, but still staying true to our DNA and minimal design philosophy.

What makes Nappa Dori different from other leather brands?

GS: I don’t like comparing us with others in the industry, I think if you end up doing that you are always 2 steps behind, I believe in staying ahead of the curve when it comes to designing our product line, the true testimony is in the way we have evolved and taken our own position in the market.

At a time when we have so many vegan leather brands venturing into the market, do you see it as a threat?

GS: I feel it’s good to experiment with newer materials that bring more value to our planet but I do have mixed opinions about the word vegan and how it’s being used commercially to sell products. I feel it is here to stay in the long run only if it’s truly sustainable, some vegan products are more harmful to the environment than other materials.

What are the future plans that you have in mind for the brand that would be working upon?


GS: Well, there are a lot of exciting things happening with the evolution of the brand, from us launching our very first travel luggage line to us launching our shoes this month, we are also opening our second store internationally at Dubai, our first was in London.So exciting times for us at this point.