Ilex London in Quest Mall, Kolkata

 

 

     ILEX London celebrated its first anniversary recently and few of us were invited to attend. They opened their first store here in Kolkata a year back and will soon be opening more across the country. They deal in luxury leather bags and accessories. The brand aims to fill the gap between the mid and high end with prices starting around 5k. They launched their summer collection in the presence of Bengali actress Arpita Chatterjee. Usually summer collections are filled with the predictable bright colors or pastels. But ILEX had a very interesting mix going on. There were some muted as well deep dark tones in the collection…

 

     Shades like Mandarin and Citrus catch the eye and look perfect for going out with friends while Oyster, Linen and Ice will make the ideal office companions. Black, Ocean and Camello are colors that can suit any kind of outfit or occasion. They have something for both men and women. Apart from handbags I even spotted wallets, iPad cases, spectacles cases, key chains, coin purse, makeup/jewelry case, etc. Tote and hobo styles dominated the purses design. The styles come straight from Milan and are handcrafted here in India. 

Loved this color!

 

Some promotional pics of the collection

 

Gorgeous colors – soft dove grey and the deep blue with the self design

 

     The styles are simple and classic lacking embellishments or any decorative elements. Clean cut and sophisticated seems to be the central theme and I loved the little detailing work done on the leather itself. Personally I loved the bright orange purses and deep blue ones. Medium sized bags seem to be making a comeback given their present range. I got a chance to chat with Sunil Bansal, who is the CEO and Creative Director of the brand, and he told me that the color palette was inspired by the “British Summer” and the designs featured the current trends being favored in Rome.

Wallets for men and women

 

Coin purses

 

Actress Arpita Chatterjee with Creative Director Sunil Bansal

     We spent the afternoon browsing the collection, snacking on yummy nom noms and devouring these uber cute red velvet cupcakes with mini purses as toppings. Personally I never buy leather goods but if you do like it then head on down to their store and check out their classy collection. If muted under stated elegance is your thing then they have something for you. That’s all from me…see ya chicas later!