Handcrafted Success - Dilip Kapur Founder, Hidesign

In the era of fast fashion, Puducherry-based leather goods brand Hidesign claims that it still works towards handcrafting goods. Founded by Dilip Kapur, the brand says it relies on the process of vegetable tanning, uses solar-powered energy, recycles water at its tanneries, and focuses on hiring employees from religious minorities and the LGBTQ community. In an interview with Images Business of Fashion’s Sanya Arora, Kapur discusses the company’s expansion plan, business model, product collection and more.

At Puducherry-based Hidesign's atelier, craftswomen work in groups to construct a bag along the brand's belief that human hands have soul. In the era of fast A fashion, Hidesign is still working towards handcrafting goods. The brand says that it knots every stitch ending by hand and its brass buckles are individually sand-casted and hand-polished.

Ninety percent of the employees that run the brand's atelier are women. Hidesign makes a conscious effort to empower women through employment. Most of the women it employs are uneducated and hail from rural areas of the country. The brand trains them in the skills to handcraft leather goods.

In 40 years of its existence, Hidesign has taken various initiatives to support local communities residing in the villages surrounding its atelier. These include supporting small community groups and funding research and schools to offer free education.

Its community empowerment doesn't just stop at hiring women, it also hires employees from religious minorities and the LGBTQ community.

Today, Hidesign is available in 25 countries, including USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya, Mauritius, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and UAE.