How Karnataka's state-run leather corporation is giving people a chance to step into 'royal' shoes

Months after it signed an agreement with fashion brand Prada, as one of two Indian organisations to do so, to supply Kolhapuri-inspired chappals to be retailed from Prada outlets globally, Karnataka’s Dr. Babu Jagjivan Ram Leather Industries Development Corporation (or LIDKAR, as it is better known) has come up with a range of innovative footwear that it has named the Maharaja/Maharani (king and queen) slippers.

While the name is royal, and the inspiration from the collection came from the idea of what kind of footwear members of the royal family would have sported in the past, LIDKAR managing director KM Vasundhara clarified that “No specific study was conducted on the footwear worn by maharajas and maharanis in the past. Artisans were simply asked to design special footwear suitable for royalty. Accordingly, the slippers were designed purely based on imagination, without any formal study.”

The feel of royalty here is in the elegance of the designs and the quality of the leather used. In this, the collection is in keeping with the LIDKAR standards; the organisation primarily manufactures and sells high-quality leather products, including footwear, belts, wallets, bags and other accessories.

“Mysore is famous as the seat of the Wadiyar Maharajas [who ruled the area between the late 1300s and 1950]. The grand Mysore Palace, which draws thousands of tourists every year, stands as a testament to the grandeur of the era.] I was inspired by their legacy to create a kind of footwear that resembled that worn by them,” explains Mysuru-based Raju Dasappa, whose family has been involved in the work of footwear making for generations. It was Dasappa’s design that served as the basis for the Maharaja/Maharani slippers.

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According to LIDKAR officials, the organisation had instructed artisans from various districts to design new styles of footwear, with the criteria being “slippers fit for kings”. Dasappa’s design impressed with its elegance and quality. “Since the Mysuru royal family had provided good governance and made significant contributions to the state’s development in the past, the men’s footwear was named Maharaja chappal and the women’s footwear Maharani chappal,” Vasundhara added.

For his part, Dasappa says it has been a “dream come true” for him. “People can wear this and feel like kings and queens,” he says.

Heaping praise on Vasundhara, he adds, “[Under her] artisans have been receiving strong encouragement [from LIDKAR] to create new footwear designs. She is working tirelessly for the growth of LIDKAR.”

While in design the Maharaja/Maharani slippers look similar to India’s famed Kolhapuri chappals — handcrafted and braided leather slippers which are tanned locally using vegetable dyes, and are made in the districts of Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara and Solapur in Maharashtra, and Bagalkot, Belagavi, Dharwad and Bijapur in Karnataka, as per a Geographical Identification (GI) tag received in 2019 — both LIDKAR and Dasappa insist there are crucial differences.

In fact, the urge to create something unique, something different from the Kolhapuris was one driving force behind the designing of the Maharaja/Maharani slippers, say LIDKAR officials. “In North Karnataka and the border regions of Maharashtra, Kolhapuri chappals are a household name and have gained public recognition and GI tag. Similarly, although South Karnataka has skilled artisans, it did not have any identifiable, unique footwear of its own,” one official explained.

The Maharaja/Maharani slippers will fill this gap, it is hoped.

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Says Dasappa, “Generally, Kolhapuri chappals are quite stiff and are best suited for use in dry terrain, especially in the regions of North Karnataka. However, when Kolhapuri chappals absorb water, they tend to develop a foul smell very quickly. In contrast, the newly designed Maharaja and Maharani chappals manufactured by LIDKAR are soft and comfortable to use, and even if they absorb water, they do not develop any odour.”

According to a LIDKAR official, 11 different designs have already been developed for the Maharaja/Maharani slippers, in the coming days, the organisation aims to introduce 10 more designs each for men and women. While currently, some of the designs have a sort of simple elegance, others are more ornate, with gold work.

Price depends on design, but may vary from Rs 3,000 a pair to Rs 30,000 a pair, say officials. The time invested in making the pair also plays a role in deciding its price.

“It takes about one-and-a-half days to make a pair of Maharaja footwear and one full day to make a Maharani pair,” says Vasundhara.

In recent months, Indian footwear has drawn a bit of global attention.

Last year, Prada found itself in the midst of a controversy after models for the brand were seen wearing Kolhapuri-inspired footwear on the ramp, without crediting the Indian artisans who have traditionally made this footwear. The fashion giant, however, quickly corrected the lapse, going on to not only acknowledge the inspiration from the Kolhapuri chappals, but signing agreements with LIDKAR and Maharashtra-based LIDCOM (Sant Rohidas Leather Industries and Charmakar Development Corporation Ltd) to supply them with Kolhapuri-inspired slippers, which they would then retail.

Now, LIDKAR’s new range of Maharaja/Maharani slippers too seems to have received a fair bit of attention.

Currently, the range is only available at the LIDKAR showroom at the Bengaluru International Airport. “Owing to their beauty and comfort, the Maharani footwear is especially popular. Even foreign women have shown great interest in the Maharani design,” says Vasundhara.

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Meanwhile, LIDKAR has reportedly proposed a Rs 25 crore budget to establish a five-acre production cluster in Dattagalli, Mysuru. The aim of the workshop is to shift artisans from working in independent workshops to an organised factory-style production model. This, it is hoped, will ensure consistency in quality and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities to the artisans.

The organisation, according to officials, is also working on acquiring registration for the Maharaja/Maharani slippers. Once that is achieved, the ‘royal’ footwear will be made available at all LIDKAR outlets across Karnataka.

Stepping out like a Maharaja (or Maharani) is just a footwear away.