A progressive thinking brand, Tiger Marrón handcrafts unique and durable leather accessories with intricate detailing and expert artisanship.

Empathetic, customer centric, and quality focussed, these are the three words which perfectly describe what goes behind the scenes of a luxury fashion house specializing in leather fashion accessories and home accessories- Tiger Marrón. Everything sold by Tiger Marrón is handcrafted at its production houses using top-grade grain leather in line with their culture of craftsmanship. We get in a conversation with Tiger behind Tiger Marrón. Saahil Nandrajog to know more.

Historically, the company started as a manufacturing partner for leading global brands. How did the transition to retail take place?

Having a lot of data, understanding and experience, we saw that there was a gap in the market. There was no brand that had a story to tell, with designs and product offerings at the respective price that we are operating in. We felt we were the backbone of western retail, manufacturing with expert knowledge, yet the same knowledge and product offering was not being presented to our own country. We took it upon ourselves to bring that same wealth of creation and production to our domestic market as well.

Sustainability has become a huge trend today, even in the leather market per se, but are Indian brands ready to abandon traditional leather and move towards alternatives?

Traditional leather can be ethically sourced, made with good dyes, and ours, specifically, is also biodegradable. It’s important to consider all information when assessing sustainability. As a brand, we don’t believe in green-washing and our goal is to cater to all sections of the market, whilst ensuring goals are met. One thing to look out for with vegan leathers that a lot of people are using in the market today is that it’s often just plastic with harmful dyes and not biodegradable, which adds to its lack of sustainability. However, new vegan leathers, which are the ones we use, are upcycled, harmful-chemical-free and some are plant-based. The future of this market will look like people making informed decisions. The more information that brands continue to put out, and more questions that consumers ask, the more informed the consumer choices will be and one can then make the choice to go for brands who use traditional leathers that are ethically sourced, as a by-product of different industries that don’t go to waste, and are biodegradable, or go for brands that use vegan leathers that are not inadvertently damaging. We offer both worlds.

Your brand has launched a line of Vegan accessories and Vegan Leather. Can you give us an insight into it?

Our vegan leather is made from upcycled materials and can therefore be considered environmentally sustainable. It is finished with natural chemicals as opposed to harmful industrial chemicals. It’s taken us a long time to create the perfect recipe, a lot of experience and science has been utilized to do so and we’re excited to give the market options for vegan leather without compromising on quality, durability, accessibility and all whilst remaining fashion-forward. For people who’ve made a concerted lifestyle choice of only purchasing vegan accessories, we’re here to provide them with functional and fashionable pieces that meet that requirement.

What was the idea behind introducing equestrian accessories to the brand?

As an equestrian and the founder of the brand, working in a very experienced way with equestrian accessories, called tack, has affected the approach to leather goods as consumer products. With a passion for riding, and a passion for durable materials, an equestrian theme was something we naturally gravitate towards as a brand. Our stirrup bag is a perfect example of how equestrian themes (the stirrup where you place your feet during riding), can meet fashion (the size, shape, and functionality). The professional world of equestrian sports is synonymous with durability, elegance, clean lines and forward momentum. We try to imbibe these elements into the design of all bags, not just the equestrian themed ones.

What’s next for Tiger Marrón?

We have approximately 3 launches planned for this calendar year. All of them varied and diverse, but interesting and consumer-focused. We want to attract new customers, but at the same time, give our loyal customers something new to dabble with. We also recently launched 7 new colorways in our home textiles division, and will be growing the product offerings in that category as well. And the new launches scheduled for this year will see us playing with more shapes, exploring more concepts close to our heart and culture, and offering more functionality.