The story of Nappa Dori began in 2010—not in a high-fashion boardroom, but in a 100-sq-ft scooter garage in Hauz Khas Village, Delhi. Today, that garage has shapeshifted into a global footprint. From high-traffic airport lounges to flagship boutiques in London and Dubai, Nappa Dori has become a “point of experience” for the design-curious global nomad. Whether it’s a handcrafted trunk or a finely calibrated laptop bag, the brand speaks a universal language—effortless, tactile, and cosmopolitan.
Before becoming synonymous with handcrafted leather goods and “modern heritage”, Nappa Dori was a survival strategy for founder and creative director Gautam Sinha. Before launching the brand, he ran an outfit called Definite Design, producing belts for a Danish company and menu covers and boxes for Indian clients. By 31, designing for others had lost its charm. He wanted, as he puts it, “a piece of the pie”. An epiphany led him to create his own label, and serendipity led him to its name. The visual of a scrap of calf-leather (nappa) and a spool of thread (dori) on his desk sealed the deal. “It was a name that could travel.” And it did.
Handcrafted trunks became the brand’s breakout hit—brides ordered them for trousseaus while aesthetes filled them with books and curios—quietly opening a new design category. Today, Nappa Dori’s world spans wallets, organisers, footwear, luggage, and bags. Café Dori, an experiential extension of Sinha’s love for coffee and craft, has become its own phenomenon with outposts across Delhi/NCR, Chandigarh, London and Dubai. The brand’s recent foray into menswear—structured jackets, workwear cuts, and mature silhouettes—completes its aesthetic universe.
The real test of Sinha’s “Indian minimalism” emerged when the brand crossed borders. Many Indian labels struggle abroad by either leaning too ‘ethnic’ or swinging too ‘Western’. Nappa Dori did neither. “It gives me a sense of calm and that translated into the language of the products and its designs,” he says. London opened its doors in 2019, followed by Dubai. Europe is firmly on Sinha’s horizon.
This year, airports form a major thrust of the brand’s expansion strategy. Beyond their presence in Delhi, Mumbai and Sri Lanka, two new airport stores are scheduled for the first quarter, alongside a new international outpost. And while the brand has become a world traveller, Sinha’s compass points inward. “We promote the craft more than the culture,” he says.