This writer has always felt that nothing can justify Mumbai like a bag; it represents the busy, corporate mood of a city that never sleeps and, more importantly, the big bucks required to survive here. And so, when we come across a recently released collection called Bombay Dreams by Tokiké (a business enterprise that promotes urban culture and art through its statement bags), we are immediately intrigued.

When we reach out to founder Karan Bafna, he informs us that the homegrown brand was launched in 2021. “Bombay Dreams is our second-ever collection. Art is a huge aspect of where we draw our inspiration from, but people started associating us with only neoplasticism and Mondrian [owing to our first collection that was inspired by a trip to Italy]. We knew this is where our next collection would come into play — to reset perspectives. So, as a brand born in the city, and as folks who have lived here all their life, being inspired by Mumbai was an organic process,” the 29-year-old tells us.