Exploring the possibilities of a market that involves a skilful combination of the femininity of Swarovski crystals along with the toughness of leather, SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS is getting deeper into a niche market that is glittering globally with growth. Showcasing exclusive exhibits by leading Kanpur leather manufacturers of saddlery, pet accessories, hand bags, and shoes, the company’s recent event at the Kanpur Status Club witnessed the innovative usage of SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS in horse leather accessories such as embellished browbands, bridles, saddles, straps and headstalls, and pet accessories such as dog collars with matching embellished leashes, along with lifestyle products like bags, belts and footwear. As up-market as it sounds, the market is projected to be growing in double digits for the past two years, triggered by the interest of women all over the globe to decorate their equestrian wardrobes and their pets with loose cut crystals…
Adding the most refined touch of quality to this unique initiative is the Kanpur leather industry. “Kanpur occupies a place of prominence in the Indian leather sector and is known to be a global hub in producing unmatched quality of equestrian products and pet accessories that are today exported to Europe and US. It is the fine quality leather and excellence of workmanship, which has helped Kanpur gain worldwide recognition. The growing leather industry has prompted us to fuel this industry further with an added sparkle of SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS. Married together with high quality leather craftsmanship of renowned Kanpur exporters, we have created a new dimension to this existing market making designs richer, innovative and truly brilliant,” says Flemming Nielson, Vice President Operations, Asia South, SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.
Created over the past 6 months by the design team of Swarovski, collaborating with various export manufacturing units in Kanpur like Moti International, Lex International, Samson International, Global Exports, Kings International and Maria Exports International, to name a few, the products on display were all developed keeping the buyer in mind, all set to be taken to the upcoming SPOGA international fair in Germany and various other fairs that will happen in the months afterwards. Even though the application on leather is being explored for quite some time now, the company claims that it has really explored it to the fullest over the last 2 years.
“More and more partners are coming in, making us confident that this is a lucrative market to get into. While 2 years ago there were only 2-3 people using crystals on leather, there are today more than 50 such manufacturers using Swarovski elements exporting to markets like Europe, Scandinavia, France, Germany and US,” says Konia Khanna, Marketing Head – India, SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS. Adding to the scope of the same in the domestic market, she adds, “Still at a very nascent stage in India, we think horse racing is a big thing in the domestic market as well with a great potential, as anything blingy works here. Considering that our product is highly decorative, the feel is to almost ornament your pet, even dogs for that matter, as a celebration. With no established brand to cater to this market in the country, it is still an unexplored market for us, and therefore we would also like to seed this thought into the minds of our clients.”
Overcoming challenges with R&D and collaborative design efforts…
As Flemming proudly claims, “Leather is a beautiful and precious material and SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS have developed special application techniques and a number of innovative products ideal to accentuate and embellish leather.” Team Swarovski is continuously working towards overcoming the various challenges that one faces while combining the two elements together in order to achieve a high quality product. Special products such as rivets, the snap fastener, specialized zippers and heavy metal products are being developed exclusively to suit the leather market, R&D for which is mainly undertaken by the company’s head office in Austria. Once the product is ready, it is then explored creatively by the design teams at the country level into different designs and looks, which suit individual buyer requirements.
Elaborating on exclusive techniques, Kamalpreet Ghai, Assistant Manager – Design, explains, “Working mainly with the textile and apparel market, the basic application procedure we use is hot fix, which is not possible on leather, as the stones often come off along with the top layer of leather. But today a lot of our products that were traditionally made for textiles have found expression with leather, especially the ‘mesh’ which is a whole fabric of crystals linked together almost to create a jaal. For leather we also have different ranges of buttons and rivets which can be sewn onto the base. Another alternative that we use is that we do hot fix on suede first and then use that as a patch in leather to finish the product. As far as current trends are concerned for an export based animal accessories market, mesh is in great demand along with ‘cup chain’ which can again be sewn on from the top making the product durable.” Introducing another new article to the whole assortment is a development called the ‘rose pin’, which is a stone that has four prongs at the back which can be clawed on to the leather. As the prongs are now visible in the front the application looks exactly like a stone but makes the product long lasting.
Collaborating with the clients for developing designs, is the design team of Swarovski who helps the manufacturers control prices and manipulate the applications to achieve an equally good product in a specified budget. “We deeply concentrate on application training and also developing a range for our buyers by partnering with them at each step.
Depending upon the client needs we have both a channel network and also direct interactions. Some clients don’t need much of the design, they need only the supply. But some clients need design inputs, and so there direct interaction is needed. Some need the fastest product and newest colour. This design service is to make it easier for them as a manufacturer to apply the product. For example, if we think of the typical horse accessory, we usually think only of a row of crystals. But we’d offer 100 ways of putting the different colours, different sizes and different shapes, an area where our team helps with its expertise,” says Konia.
