Bags are definitely a girl’s best friend. They’re the most visible part of your ensemble from afar, doing the talking before your makeup, earrings and heels do. If you’re at an evening soiree, a pearl-encrusted clutch will spell charm. At a wedding? Bring on that mini handbag bedecked with rhinestones, pearls and polkis! And perhaps no one has understood the sartorial fluidity of the evening bag more than Meera Mahadevia has. Often hailed as the Judith Leiber of Indian luxury, Mahadevia’s statement creations have become de rigueur with everyone from Rekha and Madhuri Dixit to Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone as well Natasha Poonawalla and Neerja Birla.
And that emanates from the designer's 40-year journey of witnessing the evolution of the luxury accessory from being a mere add-on to being the talking point of an ensemble. Her handcrafted bag creations occupy the space between fashion and heirloom, marrying a humble accessory with the richness of Indian craftsmanship, intricate embroidery, handcrafted metalwork, jewel-like stones and textiles.
With the festive and wedding season underway, Meera Mahadevia takes Manifest inside mood board for the ornate bags, why she feels couture bags must go far beyond the wedding day, bringing the global spotlight to Indian luxury accessories, and more.
Meera Mahadevia (MM): My journey actually began over four decades ago. At the time, I would see beautifully dressed Indian women wearing exquisite saris, traditional jewellery and wonderful textiles, but very often carrying a Western handbag that somehow didn’t belong with the rest of the ensemble.
That stayed with me. I felt there was a space for an evening bag that was rooted in India and its extraordinary craftsmanship, but at the same time sophisticated and contemporary enough to be carried anywhere in the world.
Being a textile designer, I naturally began looking at the handbag as a canvas. I started experimenting with Indian textiles, embroidery, handcrafted metalwork and traditional techniques, and slowly a very distinctive design language emerged.
I don’t think I consciously set out to create a “luxury accessories brand” at the time. I was simply fascinated by the possibility of taking all this extraordinary craftsmanship and putting it onto this little canvas called a handbag.
(MM): I have always looked at a handbag as much more than a functional object. My training as a textile designer gave me an understanding of colour, weave, texture and material. Later, my Master’s in Indian Aesthetics deepened my understanding of our artistic and cultural traditions and perhaps also influenced the way I looked at beauty and design.
The handbag became a wonderful little canvas for me. Within this small space, I could bring together textiles, Zardozi, handcrafted metalwork, stones, weaving, carving and so many different techniques. So, I began approaching each bag almost as an objet d’art or a piece of jewellery. It isn’t simply about embellishment. It is about composition, proportion, texture and how different crafts speak to one another.
And ultimately, there is the hand of the artisan. When several craftsmen have spent weeks creating one piece, it carries something of each of them. That gives the object a soul that mass production can never replicate.
(MM): Over more than four decades, my design language has naturally evolved, but its foundation has remained remarkably constant: the human hand and Indian craftsmanship. When I was younger, perhaps I was primarily fascinated by creating something beautiful, unusual and different. Today, there is another layer to it. I think much more consciously about preserving craftsmanship, supporting the people who practise it and finding new relevance for traditional techniques.
At the same time, I never want craft to feel frozen in the past. I love taking an age-old technique and placing it in an unexpected contemporary context. I am constantly experimenting with materials, proportions and forms. For me, evolution doesn’t mean moving away from tradition. It means allowing tradition to evolve with you.
(MM): Absolutely. I think a statement bag can almost function as a piece of jewellery. A woman could be wearing the simplest sari, a beautiful black dress or a very understated outfit, and one extraordinary, handcrafted clutch or minaudière can completely transform the look. Because the bag is such a concentrated object, every detail becomes important-the frame, the embroidery, the stones, the texture, even the way it catches the light.
Sometimes you don’t need anything more. The bag can be the jewel.
(MM): I would probably call it refined maximalism. I love richness - beautiful brocades, Zardozi, Polki, Kundan, pearls, crystals, handcrafted metal frames and intricate detailing. There is certainly opulence in my work. But I don’t believe luxury is simply about adding more.
For me, luxury is about balance, proportion, workmanship and detail. Even when a piece is elaborate, there has to be refinement. You have to know where to stop. So perhaps my bags are maximalist in craftsmanship but restrained in the way all those elements finally come together.
(MM): Bridal dressing became a very natural part of my journey because an Indian wedding brings together almost everything that has fascinated me throughout my life-extraordinary textiles, jewellery, embroidery, colour and craftsmanship.
But I have never wanted to make something that looks like a “bridal bag” that can only be carried once. I want a bride to look at that bag years later and still find it beautiful. She should be able to carry it with another sari, an evening dress or even something much simpler. For me, the wedding may be the beginning of the bag’s story, but it shouldn’t be the end of it.
(MM): It was an incredibly proud and emotional moment for me. Being the first Indian accessories brand to be featured at Vendôme Luxury wasn’t simply about recognition for Meera Mahadevia. For me, it represented something much larger-Indian craftsmanship being recognised within an international luxury environment. There have been other very special international moments in my journey as well. My work has been showcased at the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore.
Another experience very close to my heart was at the Newark Museum in the United States, where we had a fashion show and my bags were also presented for sale through the museum shop. What made that occasion particularly personal was that I also performed a classical dance recital based on Lord Ganesha at the museum.
Whenever Indian craftsmanship is appreciated internationally, I feel enormous pride. These recognitions belong as much to my artisans as they do to me. I may conceive and design the piece, but their hands give it life.
(MM): My relationship with craftsmanship really began in childhood. I was deeply fascinated by khadi. My father was a Gandhian, so I grew up understanding khadi not simply as a fabric but through its profound association with Mahatma Gandhi-the idea of something being spun and woven by hand, self-reliance and the dignity of handmade work.
I think even as a child I was fascinated by the hand behind the object. At the same time, my mother had the most beautiful textiles, saris and embroideries. I remember being fascinated by their colours, textures and workmanship. Then, when I became a textile designer, an extraordinary world opened up to me. I began understanding the incredible richness of Indian weaving traditions-brocades, Jamawar, Chanderi and so many others.
Later, studying for my Master’s in Indian Aesthetics gave me an even deeper appreciation of the philosophy, history and cultural meaning behind our artistic traditions. All of that naturally found its way into my work.
Today, whether I am working with Zardozi, Thewa, Kundan, Polki, metal filigree, brocade or another traditional technique, I am not interested in simply reproducing the past. I want to respect the integrity of the craft while finding a completely new expression for it. That fascination with the human hand has remained with me throughout my life.
(MM): I have been very fortunate over the years to see my bags carried by some remarkable women, including Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone, Rekha, Madhuri Dixit, Sonam Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar, Janhavi Kapoor, Khushi Kapoor and Rhea Kapoor, to name a few.
My creations have also been chosen by women such as Simone Tata, Natasha Poonawala, Neerja Birla and Nina Kothari, which has been equally special to me.
What I find interesting is that every woman chooses differently. Some are drawn to an intricately embroidered piece, some to a sculptural metal bag, and others to something very jewel-like. I think what they are ultimately looking for is individuality-something distinctive that completes the look without feeling predictable.
Today, particularly for an important occasion or the red carpet, a handbag can almost become jewellery. But I also think there is an increasing appreciation for something that has a story behind it-the textile, the technique, the craftsmanship and the hands that made it. Our pieces are handcrafted, so no two are ever absolutely identical. I don’t see those subtle variations as imperfections. They are the signature of the human hand.
(MM): It has changed enormously. When I started, the handbag was often almost an afterthought in bridal dressing. There would be enormous attention paid to the sari or lehenga and the jewellery, and then a fairly conventional handbag would be added at the end. Today, brides think about the complete look. The bag has become part of the styling and, increasingly, a statement in itself.
The other major change is individuality. Today’s bride is much more confident about expressing her own personality. She doesn’t necessarily want everything perfectly matched. She may wear an heirloom textile with something contemporary, or carry an unexpected bag with a traditional lehenga. I find that very exciting. And importantly, she increasingly wants pieces that she can use beyond the wedding.
(MM): I don’t think a bridal bag needs to match the lehenga exactly. In fact, sometimes contrast is much more interesting. If the lehenga is extremely elaborate, the bag can be quieter. If the outfit is relatively understated, the bag can become the jewel. I particularly like picking up just one element from the outfit-a colour, a motif, a metallic detail or perhaps a stone-and allowing that to create a relationship between the two rather than matching everything literally.
The bag should complement the bride, never compete with her.
(MM): All of them, really, because each Indian wedding function has such a different personality. For a mehendi, the bag can be playful, colourful and lighter. For the sangeet, you can have more sparkle, embroidery and movement.
For the wedding, I love something exquisite and jewel-like, for instance, a beautifully-handcrafted clutch or minaudière that almost becomes part of the jewellery. And for the reception, you can go glamorous, sculptural or very contemporary. That is what makes Indian weddings so wonderful from a design perspective. You have several occasions, and each one allows you to tell a completely different story.
(MM): Absolutely. I feel very strongly about this. We already inherit our mothers’ and grandmothers’ jewellery and saris. Why shouldn’t a beautifully handcrafted handbag become part of that same tradition?
I love imagining a daughter or granddaughter opening a cupboard many years later, discovering her mother’s wedding minaudière or embroidered clutch and wanting to carry it again. For me, true luxury is longevity. It is something beautifully made, something that carries the hand of the artisan, something that doesn’t become irrelevant when a season changes, and something that gathers memories as it passes through a family.
Ultimately, that is what I would love our bags to become-the heirlooms of tomorrow.