At Rs 2.5 lakh, these boots are made for gawking

You can't put a price on fashion, and yes, sometimes it hurts. These gold-plated shoes create a noise and it's likely to sound like the cash register emptying your savings

Audelade may sound fabulously French, but this brand of footwear is handmade just around the corner at Lower Parel. Sunday Mid day caught up with company director Rajesh Sanghvi at the brand's first outlet at Atria Mall to talk about what makes a jacket cost Rs 7.5 lakh, and how to blow the fortune you don't have on gold-plated shoes.

Director of Audelade Rajesh Sanghvi with their costliest item at the
storeu00a0-- a suit priced at Rs 7.5 lakh. Pic/ Yolande D'Mello

How did the idea of using gold and silver in shoes come about?
As a family, we have been in the business of textile and jewellery making, so we decided to combine the two and see what comes out of it. The result was a new concept; one where we create a gold wire mesh fabric that's used in shoes, clothing and accessories. The fabric is handwoven using a patented technique, and we work with a group of artisans at our workshop.

How long did it take to make the suit?
The gold suit that we made took two months to create, and we had four artisans working on it. It costs Rs 7.5 lakh. You can buy products off-the-shelf but we customise most of it based on customer specifications. Delivery takes 30 days.

The price makes your goods unaffordable to most. Who is your audience?
Less than five per cent of Indians canu00a0 afford to buy our products. Our silver range of products starts at Rs 10,000 -- these would be smaller items like mobile pouches and handbags. The gold range starts at Rs 20,000, and the shoes are priced at Rs 2.5 lakh onwards. We have socialites, actors and people with fine taste drop in. We are also looking to cater to an international market, hence the name -- Audelade is French for 'over and above', which defines our range quite well.

What's coming up next?
Can we expect diamonds on stilettos?
We like being different from others in the market. We have no competition. Gold and silver, the way we use it, is classy and we don't want our products to be loud, so, no crystals.